


Finding Home

by spacegaykogane



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drowning, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Lance (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, M/M, all the klance, hurt keith, klance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-13 23:18:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 26,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7989922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacegaykogane/pseuds/spacegaykogane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the wormhole collapses, Keith finds himself stranded on a strange planet. Alone. Until Lance comes along.<br/>With their lions dead and resources limited, Keith and Lance need to put aside their differences and work together to get home.<br/>Wherever that may be, now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [karovie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/karovie/gifts).



Keith didn’t know how it happened- or _what_ was happening, even. All that came to the red paladin’s eyes was the electric brightness of the wormhole- the static flashes of purples and whites and blues. Then there was a harsh jerk, and he was floating, with no pull and tug of the wormhole’s energy controlling his lion- just a gravitational descent downwards.

He came to his senses and pulled back hard at the control stick on the panel before him, trying to lessen the impact he would inevitably make when he hit ground. His lion slowed, but only barely- the gravitational pull too powerful as he free fell.

“Come _on,_ Red!” Keith groaned as he pulled, biceps aching- _burning_ with the effort, and sweat running down his brow, the solidity of a blurry green and red ground growing closer and closer.

He closed his eyes and turned his head, bracing for impact.

The collision from the deafening crash threw Keith straight out of his seat, sending him flying through the cockpit. He bashed his head hard against a wall, cracking the visor to his helmet before he sagged to the floor.

He promptly passed out.

* * *

What could have been only a few minutes later, Keith woke with a sharp gasp and a groan as a blinding pain pierced through his head. He weakly reached his arms up, wincing as his bruised shoulders screamed in their sockets, and removed his dented helmet, tossing it to the floor and taking in deep breaths of fresh air.

He shifted to his side and put his weight on his palms, pushing himself onto his knees, arms shaking as he lifted himself up into a sitting position. Fighting back a wave of nausea, Keith calmed himself, and breathed deeply, then lifted himself onto wobbly feet, where he leaned heavily against the nearest wall. He waited until the world stopped spinning, then fumbled his way over to the control panel, the slight tilt of his lion making the task all the more difficult.

Keith automatically knew that something was wrong with Red. He didn’t feel the telltale hum of her purring, always comforting, in his mind- nor the reassurance of another presence to protect him. He was disconnected.

He was _alone_.

Again.

Feeling his breaths come in shaky gasps, Keith shook his head, then winced when it sent a thud of pain down his neck.

 _No._ He wouldn’t let himself think like that- he couldn’t afford to. Red would get better. He’d fix her, somehow. And then he’d find the others.

Wherever else in the universe they could be.

Which brought up the question:

_Where was he?_

Keith looked through Red’s eyes- the vast windshield that sat before him, out into the world he had crash landed into. He couldn’t see much from his position on the ground.

But he did notice the color.

There was so much green that, for a moment, Keith thought he had landed on Earth. But the bright red dirt that made small patches of appearance disproved this. It looked as if the soil were made of blood.

The sky was a lavender color, and the clouds (were they clouds?) were a heavy blue- almost indigo. In the distance, Keith thought he saw a fire, but then identified it as trees- a vast forest of them far off, with tree trunks that were an unnatural white. It was all so familiar- yet so alien.

Deciding to get some answers, Keith walked out Red- climbing on some parts, for her landing position created a steep incline. He had worked up a sweat by the time he got out the mouth of his lion, and fell to the ground with a groan.

What he landed on wasn’t grass, but a moss of some sort. It was thick and spongy, and appeared in patches. In spots where it was lacking, the red soil stood bright. Keith grabbed some of it, and rubbed it between his gloved fingers, watching as the moist dirt crumbled and fell to the ground.

He stood, and looked back at Red. She was laid on her side, having created a slight crater within the ground. The moss was burned where she sat, though only slightly, due to its damp composure. It smelled acrid- almost like burning seaweed.

Keith looked into his lion’s dead eyes, and walked over to her, placing a hand on her cold metal snout. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath through his nose as he tried to touch their minds- to locate the psychic connection they always shared.

He still couldn’t find it.

Groaning with annoyance, Keith yanked his hand away, then kicked at a clump of moss, de-rooting it from the ground sending red dirt flying. He ran his hands through his hair, pushing back his fringe, and tried to calm himself.

He’d find a way through this. He always found a way. What was it Shiro had said? _Patience yields focus._

Keeping that in mind, Keith walked away from his lion, and towards what appeared to be a body of water he had crash landed next to, only a few meters away. From his distance, the water looked a dark purple. When he stepped closer, however, he noticed that the body of water- a lake, he presumed- contained what appeared to be a vast amount of purple algae. He scooped the water in his hands, and found it was mostly clear.

He sniffed the liquid in his cupped hands and, upon detecting no odd scent, took a hesitant sip.

Keith was shocked at its normal taste- just like water on Earth, but maybe sweeter.

He let the rest of the water in his palms drip back into the lake, and stood.

That was when he heard it- a loud sonic _boom!_ that rung through the stillness of the planet, shaking the ground beneath his feet. He looked up to find a wormhole quickly closing, and an object piercing through the atmosphere.

Feeling dread in his gut, Keith backed away as it came closer towards him. Could it be a Galra ship?

He reached for his bayard.

Just as he was about to retreat to his lion, Keith recognized the blue and white object.

Lance.

A smile lit his face, and he let out a relieved laugh, putting his bayard away. He _wasn’t_ alone! There was still hope!

That smile was instantly washed away, however, when the Blue Lion didn’t slow down. He frowned, frozen in his place, as he watched it descend faster and faster, until it left a hot streak in its wake.

It was heading right towards the lake.

Keith’s stomach dropped, and he found himself screaming out Lance’s name.

Then the Blue Lion made its impact, crashing right into the center of the lake, sending a wave of water in Keith’s direction, which nearly knocked him off his feet. He held his footing, though, shielding his eyes as the water died down.

When he looked back, all he saw was a thick steam in the part of the lake the lion had landed.

Lance didn’t breach the surface.

Keith waited a moment, adrenaline coursing through his limbs, shaking his hands and knees.

“Lance!” he called, to no avail.

Still no movement- no sign that Blue would emerge.

Keith was diving into the lake before he even realized it.

He swam towards the center, where the paladin had landed. The water was hot where the lion had made impact, and it boiled Keith in his armor. The hotter it got, the closer he knew he was.

When it was so impossibly hot he could hardly stand it, Keith took a deep breath, and dove.

He swam until he could see the glint of metal- make out the shape of the lion. The water became cooler, then freezing, and Keith’s lungs were starting to ache, but he didn’t dare return to the surface. He wouldn’t- not without his friend.

When he reached the mouth of Blue, he swam in, making his way to the cockpit. There was a bubble of air at the roof of it, and he swam in that direction, taking a gasping breath as he searched for Lance, finding him sprawled along the control panel. Keith took another deep breath, ignoring the burn in his lungs and shoulders and arms, and dove towards the other boy.

He reached his friend and grabbed him. Lance was unconscious- his helmet on but cracked and dented, and body limp in Keith’s arms.

The red paladin cradled him close and swam them out of the Blue's mouth, which was completely flooded, now. He kicked the hardest he could against the cold metal of the lion, shooting them up before he pumped his legs and free arm, trying to breach the surface.

The air left his lungs, and Keith swallowed a mouthful of the sweet water. He choked, vision dimming.

By some miracle, he made it, and was met with the bliss of air, which he greeted with an aching throat and hacking cough as he ejected the water from his lungs.

He tried his hardest to lift Lance’s head above the water as he swam the both of them to the closest bit of land he could find. Eventually, his feet touched a mucky ground, and he walked them off the shore of the lake, towards the bed of moss that greeted them, dragging Lance, holding him against his chest.

Keith was panting- shaking in his armor, which weighed him down heavily, and made Lance feel like a ton of bricks in his arms. Careful not to drop him too fast, Keith laid Lance down, and tried to remove his helmet, which stubbornly stuck to the blue paladin before he yanked it harder, popping it off and throwing it to the side. His hands went to Lance’s shoulders, where he began to shake him, trying to get him to come to.

“ _Lance_ ,” Keith called, and his voice was grated and raw. His hand went to Lance’s cheek, and he patted it roughly. “Lance, c’mon, _please_ wake up!”

The blue paladin didn’t respond, eyes still closed. With his heart launched in his throat, Keith put his fingers to Lance’s neck, searching for a pulse.

Upon not finding one, he quickly removed Lance’s chest armor, and placed his ear over Lance’s heart, listening for a thump, but finding nothing. His hands gripped Lance’s sides tight, and he pulled away.

He immediately placed his palms to the taller boy’s breast, one over the other, pressing down and giving him chest compressions.

He counted the number of presses he did, arms shaking and sore, before he removed his hands and put them to Lance’s face, tilting his head back and pinching his nose as he put his mouth over his and gave him breaths.

When he pulled away and Lance didn’t stir, Keith suppressed the pleading cry he wanted to let tear from his throat, and went back to giving him chest compressions, working quick, murmuring both curses and prayers under his breath, his vision growing blurry with tears.

“ _You_ _can’t leave me alone_ … you stupid… selfish… _overcompensating_ cargo pilot!”

He waited for a retort- for Lance to call him Mullet, or shoot some insult about his piloting skills. But the blue paladin’s voice never reached Keith’s ears, and the tears burned the backs of his eyes now in his frustration.

“Come _on!_ ” he exclaimed, finishing the compressions then taking a deep breath, and exhaling it hard into Lance’s mouth, hands on his face, frantically grasping his chin and nose, fingers shaking and arms weak.

He didn’t know how long he could keep doing this. But he knew he’d never stop- not until he was dead, too.

With the last breath, Lance stirred beneath him, hands shooting up where they pushed at Keith as the blue paladin coughed up water into the other’s mouth.

Keith pulled away fast, an instant relief coursing through him as he spit out the warm water, wiping the back of his hand over his mouth. He heard Lance retch beside him, coughing the water out from his lungs, sputtering as he tried to turn on his side.

Keith helped him, supported the blue paladin- one hand on his back and another on his head, holding him as he coughed out all the water he could. Lance’s body shook beneath Keith’s hands, and the hacking noises that left his throat sounded horrible, but he was alive.

He was _alive_.

Keith found himself letting out a shaky laugh, overjoyed. “You’re a really crappy swimmer, Lance,” he joked, not knowing how else to express his relief other than with the petty banter they normally shared.

“Screw… you,” Lance gasped as he coughed.

The retort reassured Keith in a way- confirmed that the blue paladin would really be alright. Slowly, the adrenaline left Keith’s body, and he felt a wave of exhaustion course through him- his limbs crying with pain, and head throbbing.

When Lance finished coughing, he fell to his back, inhaling deeply, a hand fluttering to his chest.

“ _Ow_ ,” he moaned as he tenderly touched his heart, then his throat. “Remind me... not... to drown, again… if you’re... doing... the CPR,” he gasped.

“How do you still manage to talk so much when you just had lungs filled with water?” Keith retorted, collapsing next to Lance and letting out a sigh, then working on regaining his own breaths.

“I’m.. relentless… you should... know that… by now… _Mullet_.”

Keith let out a breathy chuckle, and let the conversation drop. He listened to Lance’s breaths as they became steadier and less wet- feeling calmed by the sound. It was a while before Lance spoke, again.

“Where the quiznack are we?” he asked, voice tender. He had slurred his words, and that worried Keith, making him grow alert.

He sat up, now, his aching arms and head protesting the action. “I have no idea.”

Lance laughed bitterly. “ _Great_.”

Then he sat up, fast. It took Keith by surprise.

“My lion!”

He put a hand on Lance’s shoulder, keeping him down as the blue paladin tried to get up. He met dark blue eyes, and shook his head.

“She’s at the bottom of that lake. We can’t get her out.”

“ _Yes_ , we can! Use Red! Where is she?”

Keith pointed, and watched as the blue paladin’s figure slumped when he saw the other lion. “She’s dead- I can’t get through to her. I think the break in the wormhole’s structure- it did something to our lions. Sorta powered them out.”

Lance searched Keith’s eyes desperately, shaking his head.

“So I’m just supposed to leave her at the bottom of a lake?”

“Blue is made out of the strongest material available to Alteans. She’ll be fine, I promise. Water won’t harm it, and if anything it’ll shield it from the Galra’s sight.”

Lance’s expression was confused- his eyes filled with questions.

“Are any of the others here?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. I’ve only seen you.”

Lance stood up at that, and Keith followed suit, catching the taller boy when his knees buckled.

“Take it easy, Lance,” Keith warned.

The blue paladin yanked himself away, looking around them, eyebrows knit together and posture tense. “ _No-_ this can’t be happening--”

“Lance,” Keith tried.

The other boy ignored him, turning and finding his helmet discarded on the ground. He picked it up and put it on, shoving the destroyed thing on his head as he tried to activate the comm.

“Hunk? Pidge? Shiro? _Anyone?_ ”

Keith watched Lance, feeling despair tug at his own heart. The panic in Lance’s voice made the gravity of their situation hit Keith, though he tried to hide it. When Lance didn’t get a response he yanked off his helmet and glared at it, dropping it and then kicking it far away.

“Lance…” Keith tried again, weakly.

“What are we supposed to do?” Lance asked, whirling to meet his fellow paladin. “We’re stranded on this planet, we don’t know where we are, and our lions are busted!” he exclaimed, pacing, now, his body shaking. Keith watched him, concerned.

“We’ll find a way. We’ll find the others, or they’ll find us. Everything is going to be fine.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because we’re not alone. We’ve got each other, and we’ll make it.”

Lance scoffed. “If our lives depend on the two of us cooperating, then we should start digging our graves.”

Keith frowned, not sure where all of Lance's animosity was coming from. He found himself glaring, and was going to fire a retort back before he noticed the blue paladin shivering hard.

He took a step forward. “Are you cold?”

Lance’s arms wound around himself protectively, and he gave Keith a look. “Uh, _yeah?_ I n-nearly drowned in a lake. Aren’t y-you?”

Keith blinked, looking down at himself. He felt fine.

“... No,” he replied.

Lance looked like he was about to say something mildly insulting before his knees buckled again, eyes rolling to the back of his head. Keith shot forward and caught the taller boy. They tumbled down together.

“ _Lance?_ ” Keith called, putting a hand to Lance’s face, noticing, now, the blue tint of his lips and the flush in his cheeks.

Then he saw the gash in Lance’s head, slowly leaking blood.

“Shit,” Keith cursed, hands hovering above the wound, then prodding gently, and feeling around Lance’s hair for other abrasions. His fingers came upon a few wounds- some only small bruises, some more serious, and Lance’s blood painted Keith’s glove by the end of his inspection.

He needed to get Lance to Red- to shelter. He was pretty sure he still had a medical kit in the cockpit of his lion- one that Shiro had insisted the paladins should be provided with, in case situations like these arose.

He wished he had payed more attention when Coran gave them the rundown on the equipment in the kit.

Deciding there was nothing that could be done about that, now, Keith lifted himself into a squatting position, and grabbed Lance’s arm, hauling it over his shoulders and holding on tight to the blue paladin’s wrist. He entwined his free arm around Lance’s waist, and heaved them both up, his legs shaking from the effort- nearly buckling from the added weight.

Keith dragged them both to Red, sweat beading on his skin, running down his neck in trickles and making his armor stick uncomfortably to his flight suit underneath. His hair matted to his forehead, dirty from a mixture of the lake water and his own sweat, and he resisted the urge to brush loose strands from his eyes, keeping his hands on Lance, and making sure he got him to the lion safely.

Getting _into_ the lion was a different story. Now, normally, on a day when Keith wasn’t injured and suffering from a possible concussion, he’d be able to summon the strength to lift Lance into the lion, straight into the cockpit. However, Keith was exhausted, his legs weighed him down like stone, and he was so incredibly sore.

So he settled for propping Lance against Red's front paw, hidden from any possible prying eyes, if there was any life on this planet. He put a hand on Lance’s forehead, the flushed skin of his cheeks, and lifted his eyelids, checking for any signs of something more serious.

Lance seemed to have a concussion, and Keith grew worried. Through the evidence of Lance’s busted helmet, the blue paladin had suffered a far worse crash than Keith, and he didn’t even want to know what possible brain damage Lance could be going through.

He hoped Coran had packed some sort of drug for swelling- something that could possibly reduce whatever irritation was going on in Lance’s head.

With a set determination, Keith squeezed Lance’s shoulder before running off into his lion, climbing his way through until he reached the cockpit.

He searched through the sullen darkness of it, frowning. The lack of life Red displayed unsettled Keith- made him feel cold. Ignoring the hollow feeling in his chest, Keith rummaged through the cockpit- checking storage units until he found the medical kit, and his spare clothes.

Smiling at his find, Keith grabbed his clothes and gratefully changed out of his sweaty armor, into his black shirt, pants and belt, and his shoes. He stored away his armor, draped his jacket over his arm, tucked the medical kit under the same arm, and used his free one to grab his helmet.

When he had all that he needed for the moment, Keith left his lion, climbing down and making his way back to Lance.

The blue paladin was right where Keith had left him, and he felt a wave of relief- as if in the few minutes he’d been gone, something horrible would have happened.

Though, it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise.

He kneeled in front of Lance, and opened the medical kit, fishing through it. There was a small bottle, and Keith grabbed it, sniffing the contents. It smelled like an antiseptic, so he doused some gauze with it, and cleaned Lance’s wounds, frowning when the blue paladin’s eyebrows knit together, and pained moans and whimpers left his mouth.

After cleaning him to the best of his ability, Keith bound the biggest wound on Lance’s head- a gash at his hairline that began bleeding heavily after Keith had cleaned it. Once he’d wrapped it in gauze, Keith took to removing Lance’s armor. The pilot suit underneath was waterproof, therefore it was not wet, anymore. But Lance’s skin was freezing- his cheeks flushed and forehead beaded with sweat. He wasn’t shivering anymore, and that worried Keith.

He put fingers to Lance’s neck, feeling his quick pulse.

“You need to wake up, Lance,” Keith murmured, watching his friend’s face.

When the paladin didn’t react, Keith sighed, and searched through the kit some more. He pulled out a jar filled with liquid, and read the label. There was an Altean scribe, and underneath it in English Keith caught the words “anti-inflammatory”. So he picked up a needle from the supplies, stuck it in the jar top, and filled it with the correct dosage.

He took Lance’s arm, found a vein, and injected him with the medicine before pulling out the needle and gently rubbing the spot it had been with his thumb, watching Lance’s face all the while.

Lance’s lips were still blue from the cold, and Keith took his jacket from where he had put it to the side, and wrapped it around the other boy. Watching Lance carefully, Keith proceeded to scooch up to him, and reclined against his lion, pulling Lance close and wrapping his arms around him.

Lance’s head lolled, and fell to the curve of Keith’s neck. He flinched at the cold boy’s touch, then relaxed into it, only holding him tighter. His hands rubbed at Lance’s arms, trying to warm him up. The air was growing frigid, and Keith wished he could get Lance into Red so they could at least somewhat escape the cold. He felt it himself, now. It brought goosebumps to his skin and made him lean as close as he could to Lance, until he practically had the other boy in his lap, sharing body heat.

 _He’s going to kill me when he wakes up,_ was Keith’s last thought before he succumbed to the dizziness that had been in his brain for hours now, and fell into a deep sleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is part two of my birthday presents for the lovely Karovie!!!  
> I will be updating this regularly, as it's almost finished being written. should be done within a week!  
> thanks for reading :)  
> ((hope you enjoy it, Corn ;D))


	2. 2

When Keith woke up, the sky was enveloped in twilight- the hazy glow of the nearest sun a lazy red, making the lavender sky glimmer with orange, a veil of darkness beginning to creep into the horizon, trickling into the warm hues.

He stirred and let out a groan. His muscles were stiff, and his neck ached from his position propped against his lion.

Keith registered Lance right away, curled up against his chest, and shivering hard. He supposed that was what had woken him up- his entire body was trembling with Lance's spasms. The blue paladin's arms were bent, pressed against his own chest, fingers curled. His face held a pained expression, and Keith wished he could wipe it away.

Moving carefully, Keith pulled away from Lance, and laid the paladin down gently, covering him as much as he could with his small jacket. Lance seemed to reach out for Keith’s warmth for a moment, letting a whimper sound out in the base of his throat. Keith watched him, a worried frown on his face before he looked off at the forest.

It seemed to be half a mile away from where his lion had landed. And, while he didn’t want to leave Lance alone for too long, he knew he didn’t have a choice.

They needed a fire. And maybe food, if Keith was lucky enough to find some.

So he checked his belt for his knife, stretched his sore muscles, and set off into the cold night.

It took him about ten minutes to get to the forest. The leaves really were a red as bright as the soil, and the trunks were an almost luminescent white. Upon closer inspection, with the limited light Keith had from the two small moons that graced the sky, he noticed what appeared to be red veins lining the bark.

Frowning, Keith lifted his hand, and when he pressed his palm against the trunk he felt a strange stir of life- a consciousness, almost.

He pulled his hand away fast.

Feeling uneasy, and getting a sudden urge to run back to Lance and check on him, Keith scavenged the forest, finding fallen leaves, dried branches, and some stones. He stuffed the leaves and stones in his pockets, and held as many branches as he could.

Food was an impossibility, he realized. There was nothing in this forest but trees.

As Keith bent down to pick up one last branch, he felt as though he were being watched- could sense eyes boring into the back of his neck.

He stood up, and twirled around.

But nothing was there.

Feeling sweat bead on his temple despite the cold night, Keith put the branch in his pile and made his way out the forest.

He felt a hollowing dread- one that instilled a feeling of anxiety deep in his chest, panic clawing at his heart. He had the sudden urge to scream, but also to attack- to find what was giving him this horrible feeling. However, all he could focus on was getting _out_. His breaths came in pants, and for a horrible moment he couldn’t find his way out of the god forsaken forest.

Images came to him- his friends, surrounded by tall flames. He heard screams- heard people call out his name. There was a desert sandstorm- it blinded him, threatened to bury him forever. Shouts reached him- different, this time. They yelled _"_ _monster!”_ over, and over, and over, and ov--

Then Keith was out of the forest, and it was like emerging from dark water- leaving behind a horrible muffling of his senses, a hazy dream, and stepping back into reality.

He caught his breath, hands shaking around the branches he held, which made him sick to look at, now. Their deathly white composition chilled him to his bones.

Swallowing hard, Keith looked back at the forest.

He thought he heard whispers.

Deciding he was _not_ about to deal with whatever the hell was in there, he hightailed it back to Red.

Lance, thank Voltron, was just where Keith had left him. He exhaled the breath he hadn’t even realized had been hitched in his chest.

Lance was fine.

They were fine.

He started up the kindle for the fire, surrounding it with the stones he had found in the forest.

They were odd, looked almost like glass marked with silvery veins.

What was with everything on this planet looking veiny?

He ignored that as he finished, and searched his belt.

He had a zippo from Earth still in his tool belt. He hadn’t used the thing since living in the desert (fire was not an appreciated element on a spaceship), and was relieved he still had it, and that it still worked when he flipped it open and lit his kindling.

After blowing gently, it grew fast. Keith smiled, feeding the small flame until it was a proud, roaring fire.

He got up, and gently lifted Lance, bringing him closer to the campfire.

Lance’s features softened a distinguishable amount, and Keith found himself smiling, again.

Letting himself relax, he sat by Lance’s feet, and decided to keep guard. Keith's fear from earlier was still present- an uneasiness that settled in the pit of his stomach, now.

He watched the flames dance shadows off the metal of his lion.

* * *

Lance woke up a few hours later, mumbling nonsense. Keith was at his side in an instant.

“Hey,” he spoke softly, so as not to alarm the blue paladin. “How do you feel?”

Lance had a hand on his forehead, and his eyes were closed tight. “Like a hangover, but multiplied by one billion.”

Keith nodded. “You’ve got a concussion. And you were hypothermic.”

Lance hummed in understanding, removing his hand from his forehead, and moving it so his long fingers brushed against the bandage wrapped there.

“What’s this?”

“You had a head wound. I bound it.”

“With _what?_ ”

“That medical pack- the one that Shiro had Coran prepare.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about those.”

It was silent. Lance finally seemed to come to.

“You saved my life,” he recalled.

Keith didn’t say anything.

Lance noticed Keith’s jacket on him, then. “Oh,” he said, upon his discovery.

Keith was about to explain, but Lance continued, a smile finding its way to his face-

“This is definitely not my style. I tend to steer clear from crops and leather.”

Keith frowned, taking it back when Lance offered it to him. “You’re welcome,” he grumbled.

Lance looked at Keith, now, seeming to take him in.

“Hey- your head,” he spoke, pointing at Keith’s left temple.

Keith’s fingers flew to the sight, and he was shocked to find a clump of dried blood.

“Oh.”

It was Lance’s turn to frown, now. “You look like shit.”

“So do you.”

Lance smiled. “Yeah, but I bet I look ten times better than you. As usual.”

Keith was silent, again.

“You still cold?”

Lance shook his head. “No. I’m ok.”

“Good.”

Silence. They looked away from one another.

“What are we going to do?” Lance asked, his voice small. At least now he didn’t sound half delirious when asking the question. He seemed calmer- less irrational.

Keith wasn’t sure how to respond. When he finally did, he tried to keep hopelessness from making its way into his voice.

He looked Lance in the eyes.

“Survive.”

* * *

Keith didn’t tell Lance about the forest- about how, even the next morning, he felt it watching them with a haunting presence. They had enough to worry about without adding ‘menacing space trees’ to the list.

Instead, the two worked on getting back to the others.

Keith gathered tools from his belt and lion, and went to work on fixing the comm to his helmet. Lance watched him work from morning until early afternoon, gathering him things he needed, and helping him when he needed it. The Altean build and material was confusing, at first, but once he got over that, Keith found similarities to the technology on Earth- much like what one would see in a radio. He went by what he knew, and got a hang of it in no time. When Keith was finished, his helmet was still dented, visor still cracked, and the comms still quiet, but at least they weren’t dead, anymore. So, if the others tried to communicate with them, they’d hear it.

Lance had been distant all throughout the day. Then Keith found out why.

They were standing in Keith’s lion, assessing what they had, when Lance announced he had been formulating an idea.

“I’m gonna go swim to my lion and get some supplies.”

Keith’s jaw dropped, and he was instantly pissed.

 _“What?!_ No way, _no_ _you’re_ _not!”_

Lance, for once, was rational.

“Look, I need to see if I can reach through to Blue. And I’ve got my own medical kit in there, my bayard, and some clothes. I know my lion can survive in that lake, but I can’t say the same for my things. It’s better to get them now before they’re destroyed.”

Keith’s fists clenched at his sides, and he walked over to Lance, stabbing a finger in the boy’s chest.

“You almost _died_ in that lake! It hasn’t even been a day, you _just_ recovered from your hypothermia, and you want to _swimming?_ ”

Lance rolled his eyes. “I can take care of myself. I feel _fine_.”

“But you’re _not_.”

“I don’t need your permission, Keith! I’m going- I _need_ to. And if you’d like to help, that’s great! But if not, then you need to get out of my way.”

Keith fumed, crossing his arms. They stared down one another for a good minute.

Letting out a harsh scoff, Keith flung his arms up in the air, turning away from the blue paladin, and resisting the urge to sucker punch him.

“God, _fine_. Let’s go.”

* * *

Keith led Lance to where his lion had landed, and pointed it out.

“It should be somewhere out there. Towards the center, but closer to this side than the other. Maybe a few meters out that way.”

“Got it.”

Lance turned to look at Keith, and caught his concerned stare. He laughed.

“Oh, stop worrying. Contrary to your belief, I’m actually a _great_ swimmer.”

Keith quirked an eyebrow, a smirk playing at his lips, though he suppressed it. “Really, now?”

“I lived on the beach my whole life, man. I learned to swim before I was even walking.”

Keith crossed his arms. “Would’ve been really ironic if you had drowned yesterday, then.”

“Shut up.”

And, though Keith teased him, he really _was_ worried. The last thing he wanted was for Lance to go deep diving in the lake he had almost drowned in.

He didn’t voice his anxieties, though. Instead, he said the following:

“Well, don’t die.”

And he handed Lance a small flashlight from his belt.

The taller boy took it. Their fingers brushed, and Lance looked at the small metal, rubber-covered thing where it sat in his palm. “You just keep this around?”

Keith shrugged. “Yeah. It’s waterproof. Use it to find what you need.”

Lance flashed him a smile. “Thanks.”

Keith watched the blue paladin’s retreating form, until he was waist-deep in purple water.

Then Lance turned around, grinned, and gave Keith a two-finger salute.

He dove into the water

* * *

Lance let his dwindled connection with his lion lead him. Though she was dead, he could still feel her presence- bound to her. When he swam to the center of the lake, where Keith had instructed, he felt her almost pull at his mind.

He took a deep breath, and dove.

With powerful kicks, Lance was at the bottom of the lake within seconds. He switched Keith’s flashlight on, surprised at the power of the light, for such a small thing. In no time, he found his lion, and swam over to her, placing a hand on her metal muzzle, looking into her eyes, which reflected his light for a moment.

They were dead, but he still felt… something. Like she was sleeping, rather than gone.

He wished he could speak to her- could tell her to wake up.

Closing his eyes, he tried to reassure her with his mind, told her that he was here, that he was going to wait for her.

If she still wanted him as her paladin.

He clenched his fists tight, then let his hand cradle her snout, fingers brushing the cold Altean metal. He felt a hum of energy tingle them, almost like one of her purrs, before it died down.

She didn’t respond to his message, of course. But Lance hoped she had gotten it.

Feeling his lungs cry out with pain, Lance kicked off his lion, and swam up.

* * *

It had been three minutes. Keith was _this close_ to going in there and diving after the moron. He was pacing, his stomach in knots, and arms crossed.

Then he heard a splash, and Keith saw Lance breach the surface. A wave of relief washed over him. He watched Lance take a deep breath, then dive once more.

He started counting, again.

_One, two, three, four, five…_

* * *

Lance’s lungs burned, but it was bearable. He felt almost at home, swimming through the water. Even though the beach back home wasn’t purple.

Or on a foreign planet, a possible billions of lightyears from Earth.

The blue paladin swam back to his lion, and didn’t waste any time, going straight into the mouth of it, almost wishing that Blue's shields would activate and lock him out- as long as she was _alive_. He reached the cockpit, and gathered his bayard and jacket from where they was strewn on the floor. Then he swam to where he kept his other clothes, and (by some miracle) found a small metal box among them.

The medical kit.

_Thank you, Coran!_

Lance grabbed it, and swam off.

When Lance was on Earth, back when he was still living at home and swimming at the beach, he used to joke with his siblings about having gills. He could last so long under water, and sometimes he almost felt as though he could breathe if he didn’t concentrate so hard on the fact that he couldn’t. He’d last for long minutes under the water, mind calm, and lungs hardly bothered.

Maybe all that time swimming and keeping oxygen from his brain really did mess it up.

Lance found himself smiling, though, as he thought about Earth, about his family.

He missed them.

Clutching his things close to his chest, Lance breached the surface.

He took a deep breath, and smiled.

This was his first win since crash landing here.

* * *

When Lance broke the surface again with a downright _smug ass smile_ on his face, Keith felt something between lethal anger and overwhelming relief. He watched as Lance swam towards him, in a downright perfect form, probably just to show off.

Once Lance reached the shore, Keith frowned.

“Got everything?”

“Yeah!” and he held up his clothes, a medical kit, and his bayard. “No more flight suit, and now we’ve got  _protection_ ,” he added with a lewd wink, lifting his bayard.

Keith rolled his eyes. “You’re impossible.”

“Don’t you mean _charming?_ ”

“No. Not at all, actually.”

“It’s okay, you can play hard to get,” Lance teased before walking off. “Let’s get that fire rolling, again- I’m ready to wear some warm clothes!”

Keith rolled his eyes again before following.

* * *

Now that it was day, and he had Lance with him, the forest seemed far less menacing. Keith still felt a sense of life from the trees, almost as if he could see their red veins pulsing, but he ignored it. He kept a hand to his knife, and followed Lance, who was the one gathering the firewood this time.

“Now if only we could get something to eat,” Lance murmured as he inspected the pile of branches he was carrying.

Keith hummed in agreement.

It was silent.

“Do you really think we’ll survive here?”

Keith turned to look at Lance. The taller boy seemed shrunken in on himself. He was the smallest Keith had ever seen him- every ounce of confidence he usually had completely gone.

Keith looked away.

“We’ve got enough for a fire. Let’s get out of here.”

* * *

They spent that afternoon drying Lance’s clothes, storing their armor in Keith’s lion, and assessing what supplies they had. Keith administered another shot to Lance, who had been nearly close to collapsing a few times after his swim.

“I told you you shouldn’t have gone in that lake,” Keith murmured as he pulled the needle out, and glanced at Lance’s face. It was dusk, now, and the purple lighting of the planet, combined with the red of the flames, lit Lance’s features in a mystical way. He looked almost alien.

Keith almost laughed at the irony.

“I’m fine. Just tired… and hungry.”

Keith frowned. “Yeah….”

Quiet. There was always so much silence.

Keith looked off into the forest, pensive. He hadn’t even noticed his hand went to his knife, again. But he only tightened his grip on the hilt.

“You never answered my question, earlier.”

Keith didn’t meet Lance’s eyes, because he knew the other boy would catch the lie he was about to speak.

“We'll survive. Our lions will power up again, and we’ll fly out of here.”

"Even if we do fly out of here, we don't know where we are. And we don't have Allura to teleport us... we'd be just as lost as we are, now."

"Well, we'd have a better chance. With our lions, we can at least find a more habitable planet to wait in until we find the others."

Lance was uncharacteristically quiet. Keith turned to look at him, and saw him frowning at his hands, which were folded in his lap.

“I don’t think Blue will be okay.”

Keith blinked, noticed the way Lance hugged himself, hands clutching his arms. The red paladin thought he was simply cold again before he noticed the way Lance curled in on himself, once more.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Lance seemed like he was trying to gather the courage to speak. “I- I don’t know. I feel like… almost like she’s shutting me out. She brought me here- to this planet, and then she just… powered off… her shields went down… and I couldn’t reach her control panel- I’d been flung through the cockpit the moment the wormhole collapsed. But I… I felt her one moment. Then she was gone… the water just… swallowed her up so _easily_. Then... she was just _gone_.”

Keith’s fingers itched to reach out to Lance, but they stayed at his knife.

“The same thing happened with Red. But they’re parts of the most powerful weapon in the universe, and they’ll bounce back from this… I’m sure that Blue was just holding through until she got you to a planet… I’m sure she wanted to make sure you were safe for as long as she could.”

Lance raised an eyebrow at that. “By drowning me in a lake?”

Keith smiled slightly. “Beats powering the shields down in the wormhole and suffocating in space.”

Lance actually laughed at that. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

It was silent. Keith surprised himself when he spoke, again.

But it was the words he spoke that were more surprising.

“Besides… I’m sure she sensed Red and me here. I’m sure she knew I’d make sure you were safe.”

Lance looked at him at that, and they held one another’s gaze. Then Lance looked back at the fire, and Keith took to looking at the forest, again.

“Thanks for that, by the way... I never really said it.”

“... You’re welcome.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm putting up a part every day :) this will be done within a week.  
> Let me know of any errors or awkward phrasing- I've edited this while half asleep lmao


	3. 3

Days passed, and tensions rose.

It had been a week since Keith and Lance had crash landed. And, while they had plenty of water to drink, they had no food, whatsoever. This only heightened their usual impatience with one another.

More often than not, the boys were at one another’s throats. It was always for stupid things- competitions neither of them really cared about, and arguments that had no real meaning other than to provide them with something to do. Something to distract them from the constant, _gnawing hunger_ in their stomachs. They weren't really angry with one another, of course. They both knew this, and excused one another from the hurtful things that they'd let slip.

So whenever night fell, they’d sit out by the fire, lean against Red’s paw, and talk. Night was always a momentary truce.

“... There are eleven people in my family, not including me,” Lance had been explaining to Keith, who watched the blue paladin with fascination.

“ _Eleven?_ ” Keith exclaimed.

“Yeah.”

“How do you all fit in one house?”

Lance shrugged. “Well, it’s tight. But it’s manageable.”

“Is it a big house?”

Lance laughed at that. “Fuck no. It’s got like, three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but just one shower. A living room connected to the kitchen… there’s a spot we made the dining room, and I think it’s the nicest part of the house. But… no, not really that big.”

Keith was curious. “How does that work? That many people living together.”

“Well, first of all, privacy isn’t a thing anyone gets. You can never take your time in the bathroom, and even when you’re showering other people will walk in and do what they gotta do. You get close really fast. And nothing you own is yours, really. Everything is shared, besides a few personal things. It’s never quiet… even at night, you can hear everyone’s snores… it becomes comforting, after a while. And you start to figure out whose footsteps in the night are whose. Just, all the random noises in the dead of night become normal. I expect them, now. When we spent that first night in the castle, the silence nearly killed me. I had to sleep with Pidge's headphones on so I wouldn’t go mad.”

Keith frowned. “I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah….”

Keith nudged Lance’s side, then, and offered a smile. “Tell me about the good things.”

That brought a nostalgic look to Lance’s face, a smile that tugged a corner of his lip upwards. “Every morning when you wake up you’re surrounded by all these people, all sorts of energy… each morning is just... bright... and warm. And you know it’s a Saturday morning when you smell plantains and sausages. It’s the best thing to wake up to. The smell is like _home_. And, every night, we all sit together for dinner. Sometimes after we eat the kids'll go to the beach while the adults watch  _telenovelas_ and drink coffee _._ We stay out at the beach until the sun sets, and it's be too dark to see anything in front of us. The ocean is black once the sun is gone. And it's... calming. We'll listen to the waves a bit before we leave. Then we’ll look at the stars while we walk to the house, and make up constellations because we don't actually know any,” Lance laughed. “And… there’s always someone waiting for you at home. You’re… you’re never alone.”

Lance's smile was bright, and Keith felt a tug in his chest.

“That sounds… really nice.”

“It is.”

Keith was silent. “Do you… do you miss them?”

And he wish he hadn’t said anything, because Lance’s smile went away, and he seemed almost angry. Not at Keith, though, but more at himself.

“Yeah. All the time….”

It was quiet.

“I feel horrible for leaving them behind… my mom is probably freaking out and wondering where I am… I… I can’t even imagine what they’re going through- it just _hurts_ to think about. And- and I mean, I love being out here with you guys, it’s so awesome getting to be a part of Voltron, but… sometimes I just... I want to go home.”

Keith was silent for a bit. He didn't know what to say. “Well, the way I see it… you guys are my family, now.”

Lance smiled sadly. “Yeah, I know. I mean- I feel the same way. But…” he went quiet. It was a moment before he spoke, again. “It’s just… not the same. Don’t you miss your _real_ family?” Lance asked.

Keith looked away. “I don’t have one.”

“What do you mean? Everyone’s got a family.”

“Well, not me,” Keith bit out, glaring at the ground. “I lived in a foster home my whole life. Until the Garrison.”

Lance straightened up, and Keith looked away. “Oh, geez. I’m sorry, man, I didn’t--”

“It’s fine. I don’t care.”

The silence settled in, once again. Lance was the one who broke it.

“Well, when we defeat Zarkon and get back to Earth I’m gonna take you to my place. Just a warning, my mom will probably try to constantly fill you with amazing food. And it might seem like the goal is to feed you to death, but you _can’t_ say so. Also, we can go to the beach- Hunk lives nearby, so we can all go surfing. But, uhm, you don’t _have_ to, but... I could teach you... I mean, if you don’t know how. It would be fun, just something to do until classes at the Garrison start again- if we’re not all completely expelled, that is. But..." Lance seemed to shy away, now, and he gave an airy shrug, “I dunno… it’s just a thought.”

Keith was silent for a while, then he met Lance’s eyes and smiled.

“I would like that.”

Lance smiled wide.

“You’d love it, I promise. No more desert shack for you once we get back to Earth. Things’ll be different… they’ll be _better_.”

“And you won’t try to drown me if we do go surfing?”

“No promises.”

Keith laughed, and Lance beamed.

Then reality hit, and they remembered where they were.

Everything was suddenly quiet- the carefree air quickly sucked away.

“We’ll get out of here,” Keith spoke, reassuring the blue paladin.

“Yeah… yeah, I know.”

* * *

The farthest they’d manage to travel was ten miles from Keith’s lion before the boys realized that, opposite the forest, there was no life- just a stretch of endless moss, and a few small lakes. So, inevitably, the exhausted and malnourished boys would return to Red with hunger in their stomachs and frowns tugging their lips.

“You know what sounds _really good_ right now?” Lance murmured as they laid side by side that night, watching the stars and listening to the crackle of the fire.

“Lance, if you say a cheesy hamburger again I will punch you.”

“No, man, _that Altean space goo_. I never thought I’d miss that stuff so much.”

Keith thought about it. “Shit, you’re right.”

“ _Right!?_ Doesn’t it seem so appetizing just, like, _right this second?_ ”

Keith giggled, feeling hysterical. He calmed his laughs before he spoke, thinking rationally about Lance's discovery. “I think it’s because... because it’s filled with every vitamin and nutrient a human needs to live… and we’re starving… so our bodies want it.”

“My body wants a _bed_.”

Keith hummed in concordance.

“And for Blue to wake the fuck up.”

Keith snorted.

“Fuck,” Lance spoke, turning on his side to face Keith. “You know what’s really ironic?”

“What?” Keith asked, arms folded under his head and eyes continuing to look up at the stars as a faint smile tugged at his lips.

“I’m going to die… and your face will be the last one I see.”

“Why is that ironic?”

“Because, despite our world-famous rivalry," Lance paused as Keith snorted, "you're not gonna be the one that kills me. It’ll be from us _starving._ ”

Keith cracked at that, yanking his arms out from under his head as he laughed, one hand over his heart and one clutching his aching stomach.

“It’s just…” he gasped through giggles, " _so anticlimactic_.”

Lance joined in, too, until both their hysteric laughter filled the night.

“ _Oh_ , God- Keith,  _Keith_ , I never,” he laughed, and tried to catch his breath,“I never pictured myself going down this way.”

Keith stifled his laughter, burying his chuckles, though his mouth still stretched into a wide smile. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and turned on his side to look at Lance.

“Well?” he asked.

Lance raised an eyebrow in question, looking taken aback.

“How do you want yourself going down?”

Lance thought about it. “Probably… in some kind of epic battle. Defeating Zarkon or something- just so that... when I go, it's not meaningless. Just with a _bang_ , y’know?”

Keith hummed. “Well, if it makes you feel any better, you _did_ get stranded here through a wormhole that collapsed while we were attempting to defeat a purple galactic dictator hell bent on destroying the universe.”

Lance twisted his lips in mock thought. “I guess that could work.”

Keith smiled, and Lance smiled back. They stared at one another for a moment, and Keith watched the way the warm light from the flames danced across Lance’s face, and reflected in his eyes.

Then Keith turned to lie on his back, once more. A few moments later, Lance spoke.

“I never hated you, y’know.”

Keith was taken aback, and turned his head to look at his fellow paladin. Dark blue eyes looked up at him. He spoke, again.

“I was super jealous of you. You’re such an amazing pilot, and you don’t even have to _try_. Then there I was, giving it everything I got and not even amounting to half of what you’re capable of.”

“That’s not true,” Keith spoke, but Lance just smiled at that.

“Yeah, it is. I mean, it’s okay, though. You flunked out and I got your spot, anyways,” Lance added with a smug grin, but it didn’t reach his eyes. It fell, after a moment. “I just… I admired you, and… I dunno. I didn’t know how to show it… I dunno.”

“Lance….”

The blue paladin looked away, then sat up. Keith followed suit. He watched the side of Lance’s face, wanting to say so much, but not knowing _what_ to say.

But, finally, Lance spoke.

“Do you think..." Lance trailed off, and didn’t pick up on it, again.

“What?” Keith asked.

Lance laughed softly, then, looking at the fire, now. “No- it’s nothing, it’s--”

“Lance.”

The blue paladin turned to look at Keith. Their eyes met.

“Tell me,” Keith persisted.

Lance looked in Keith’s eyes when he spoke, now.

“I don’t think I’m meant to pilot Blue.”

Keith’s eyebrows furrowed, and he tried to understand. “What do you mean?”

Lance shrugged, looking at the ground by his feet, now, seeming self-conscious. “I mean… when I found her, it was… it was an _accident_. And she probably just accepted me because I would get her to Allura. Because I was the easiest option for that moment… and--”

“The bond can't be forced. Allura said so, herself.”

Keith must have said the wrong thing, because Lance’s face fell, and his arms hugged himself, just as they had when Lance had spoken his hesitation with Blue, before.

“Nevermind. Just forget I said anything.

“Lance--”

“Drop it, please.”

Keith sewed his mouth shut. He watched Lance for a while.

“We should get some rest."

Lance nodded, and laid down, his back to Keith.

Neither of them got much sleep, that night.

* * *

More time passed, and it was nearing two weeks. Their days went the same- they’d wake up, check the helmet comm, drink their weight in water to subside their hunger, and scavenge the forest for food, always coming out empty handed.

And, if the paladins delved too far into the forest, Keith would insist they turn around, his anxieties high, mood sour, and body tense.

This annoyed Lance, of course. He had half the mind to fight Keith on the subject, and insist that they needed to explore deeper into the forest if they wanted any chance of survival. But the blue paladin would see the look on Keith’s face, and decide not to question it, burying his protests deep inside.

There was something Keith wasn’t telling him. Lance knew this.

One night, it rained. They took their firewood supply, and other things, and brought it into Red to keep dry. Then they sat in the cockpit, side by side in the cold night, watching the rain fall from the sky.

The sight was almost comforting to Lance- and the pitter patter sound of rain reminded him of home. He felt safe and calm for the first time since crash landing on this planet.

As they watched the sight, shivering from their lack of fire, Lance spoke.

“Why are you afraid of the forest?”

Keith frowned, and looked at Lance. “Do you… not feel it?” he asked after a long while.

“Feel what?”

The red paladin squirmed, looking at his feet, and wrapped his arms around his legs as they bent towards his chest.

“It’s like they’re alive.”

Lance felt a shiver go down his spine at the tone in Keith’s voice, but he just playfully shoved Keith’s shoulder. “All trees are alive, man.”

“You know what I mean. It’s… our first night here, when you were sick, I went into the forest to get some firewood. And… I don’t know- I can’t explain it. But I  _saw_ things. Heard noises that weren’t there, and….”

Lance felt like something was stuck in his throat, his heart beating fast. He'd never seen Keith _scared_ , before, and it was unsettling to watch. So he tried to laugh it off. “You were probably just imagining it. I mean, we both had head injuries. And, well, we’re on a strange planet… you were there by yourself at night--”

“I wasn’t scared going in, Lance. I was perfectly fine until--”

“Until you heard the trees talking to you,” Lance finished.

Keith glared, then turned his head away. “Forget it.”

It was silent- only the sound of the rain filling the lack of conversation. Lance shivered, putting his hands under his armpits as he tried to warm his numb fingers.

He looked at Keith. The red paladin was still looking away, arms wrapped around his legs.

Lance sighed. “I’m sorry.”

“I said forget i--”

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made fun of you. Really, I am sorry.”

Keith was silent for a bit. “It’s fine.”

Lance watched Keith a moment longer. “I mean, you could be right. We’re on some weird planet, there doesn’t seem to be any life here, and that forest is creepy as hell. I think mind-manipulating space trees isn’t an improbable thing. We pilot enormous robot lions, for Christ’s sake.”

Keith finally laughed at that, and Lance smiled, just now noticing the dimples that hollowed out Keith’s cheeks.

He got a weird feeling in his chest. Something that made him want to keep making Keith laugh.

When the silence settled in, Lance spoke.

“Y’know, Shiro and Allura are going to be super impressed we didn’t kill each other while stranded here.”

Keith smiled, and leaned his head back. Lance found his eyes straying to the paladin’s neck, and he wanted to touch it. Or kiss it.

Wait, _what?_

“Well, I find you far more tolerable on this planet.”

Lance felt his stomach drop, and he didn’t know why. Until he spoke, that was.

“How… how about when we get back to the others?”

Keith paused, smile dropping, and looked at Lance. The glow from the moon highlighted his face- gave him an ethereal glow.

“What do you mean?”

Lance shied away, feeling a blush creep up his cheeks. He hoped Keith couldn’t see.

“When we get back… are we, like… going back to normal? In terms of… us, I mean.”

Keith was quiet for a long time- so long that Lance’s heart started to pound, lodging itself up into his throat. Then Keith’s fingers brush Lance's, and he felt an electric shock course through him. Though the rest of him was cold, his fingers suddenly felt inexplicably warm.

He looked up, and met Keith’s eyes. The red paladin gave him a soft smile.

“I don’t think things really can go back to normal,” he replied. “Whatever normal is.”

Lance smiled back. Then Keith spoke, again.

“Besides, as I recall, _you_ were the one that initiated this petty feud in the first place.”

Lance laughed, shaking his head. “You’re right.”

“Let’s just officially end it from here on out?” Keith suggested.

Lance smiled wide, offering a hand to Keith. “Truce.”

Keith took it and shook, and a pleasant hum of electricity went up his arm, tingling his skin. He didn’t want to let go of Keith’s hand, and felt disappointed when he pulled away. He focused on the smooth slide of their palms- the rough callous of Keith's skin.

Their hands went back to their sides.

“I’m still gonna compete with you in any way possible,” Lance spoke, after an awkward silence.

Keith laughed. “Naturally.”

“For appearances, you know?”

“Of course.”

Quiet. Lance balled his hand into a fist- the one that touched Keith’s own, and tucked it under his chin, looking away. He tried to keep that memory stored in the back of his mind, not quite sure what he was feeling, or why.

He just knew it felt right.

 _Keith_ felt right. He had, all along. And Lance didn’t know what to do.

So he slept.

* * *

The next morning, Lance had an idea.

“We should go deeper into the forest and find out what’s in there.”

Keith went pale. “Lance, I don’t think that’s a good--”

“I know, but we need to expand our territory. If there's any food around here, the forest is our best bet. We need to find out what’s going on in this place.”

The red paladin frowned, seeming uneasy. “Fine. You’re right. Let’s do this.”

They spent that morning getting ready. Their armor was mostly useless, so they opted to leave it behind in Red’s storage units. They opted for their bayards, instead, and headed towards the forest.

When they reached their regular campsite by Red’s paw, Keith shrugged off his jacket, dropping it to the ground.

Lance frowned. It was a chilly afternoon. “You not gonna wear it?”

Keith shook his head, and they continued on. “I move better without it.”

So they went into the forest, delving deep in, not looking back once.

Lance noticed Keith’s tension right away.

The forest grew thicker the further they walked in, and Lance could feel his heart thump fast in his chest, beating against his ribcage. He kept on, though, bayard ready for anything.

The further they walked, the more veins the trees seemed to have- and Keith _was_ right, they did seem to pulse with life. Lance knew that they weren’t alone- that something was watching them.

He started to wonder if this was such a good idea, after all.

“I think we’re close,” Lance murmured, his skin rising with goosebumps, and sweat beading on his forehead.

Keith didn’t reply.

Lance stopped, and turned around.

The red paladin wasn’t there.

 _“Keith?!”_ he exclaimed, voice echoing through the forest.

He heard Keith call out Lance’s name, his voice sounding so, _so_ far away. Like it wasn't real, at all.

“Keith!” Lance called, again. “Keith, hold on! I’m coming!”

Keith’s voice sounded out, again. It was nearly indecipherable. Lance ran towards where he thought he heard it come from.

He must have been going in the right direction, because he heard Keith cry out for help.

Then he heard him screaming in agony.

“Where are you!?” Lance shouted, panic hiking his chest. The screaming seemed to come from everywhere- neverending _gut wrenching_ screaming. It took no pause- no break for a breath. It lasted forever.

Then it stopped.

_"KEITH?!"_

He didn’t reply. So Lance ran.

He called out Keith’s name over and over, running through a neverending red and white.

When he found Keith, it was by pure accident.

The red paladin was standing by a tree, opposite the direction Lance was going to run, head bent and hands over his ears, bayard on the floor. His fingers were pulling at his hair, body shaking.

Lance went over to him and grabbed his shoulder.

“Keith!” he gasped, relieved.

The red paladin flinched from his touch before lifting his head, looking up at Lance.

“...Lance?” he spoke, hesitantly. He leaned away as Lance moved closer.

Lance nodded, dropping his bayard now, too, holding Keith by both his shoulders. “Yeah- yes, it’s me. It’s me.”

Then Keith did something completely unexpected.

He hugged Lance.

And Lance hugged him back.

Keith shook for a moment before he went still in Lance’s hold. He let out a shaky sigh, hands like a vice as they gripped onto Lance's jacket.

“I- I didn’t know where you were. You were in front of me, then you were gone, and--”

“It’s fine, it’s okay. I’m here.”

Keith nodded. His hands still clutched the back of Lance’s jacket tight, as if he might vanish.

After a moment, Lance pulled away.

“Are you alright?” he asked, hand flying towards Keith’s cheek before he thought better of it, and retreated it back to his arm. “I heard you scream.”

Keith knit his eyebrows. “What are you talking about?”

Lance blinked. “You… I heard you calling for help- you screamed, like someone had--”

“Lance… I never… I didn’t say anything. At all. I just- I kept hearing and seeing... I had to close my eyes. I saw… I just saw stuff.”

Lance swallowed hard, and bent down, now, picking up their bayards, and handing Keith's over. “Well, then, you were right. Now we should get the fuck outta here before we find out what _was_ screaming.”

Keith hesitated, hand gripped tight onto his bayard, and eyebrows set into an angry furrow as he looked around the forest. When Lance's fingers brushed at Keith's elbow, he turned to meet his eyes, and they softened. Keith nodded, and they walked off- a tension between them.

Keith gripped onto the end of the sleeve to Lance’s jacket, holding on tight.

Lance let their arms brush. After a while, he spoke.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I didn’t think it’d be this bad.”

He saw Keith swallow- saw him hesitate before he spoke. “It’s fine… we tried.”

Lance nodded shallowly. “It’s- whatever’s in there… it’s bad news. We should probably… probably just keep to the edge of the forest if we need to go in here.”

Keith nodded in agreement. They went silent. Then Lance spoke, again.

“What did you… what did you see?” 

The red paladin looked down, mouth sewn tight. When he opened it to speak, a loud noise interrupted him.

A sonic _boom!_

The two stepped back, looked at one another with wide eyes, and seemed to come to an understanding.

They ran back towards Keith’s lion.

It took them only a few minutes to make it to the forest’s edge. And when they did, it was not Team Voltron that they saw.

Lance felt dread sink his stomach down as he saw the purple ship in the sky.

“Galra,” he uttered.

It headed towards them, over the lake.

“They’ve found Red….” Keith spoke, his voice hollow.

“ _Shit_ ,” Lance cursed.

They watched as the Galra ship headed their way, and Lance felt a jolt of fear shoot through his heart. His eyes followed the slight movement of Keith, who instinctively stood in front of Lance, blocking him from the Galra’s view. Fists clenched, Keith turned to face him.

“Lance, you need to go _now!”_

Lance glared. “No way! I’m fighting them with you!”

 _“Lance,"_  Keith growled in warning before the ship finally landed next to Keith’s lion. The red paladin looked at it, at the Galra slowly filing out, armed with weapons, then back at Lance with an expression of resignation.

Lance caught Keith’s eyes, searching them as Keith searched his own. They stared at one another, and Lance wasn’t sure he liked the expression that was on Keith’s face, now.

When Lance was going to say just that, Keith took him by the shoulder, pulled him close, and kissed him.

Before Lance could even register what was happening- could even focus in on the feeling of Keith’s palms on his cheeks, and mouth warm against his own- Keith pulled away, and knocked him out.

Everything went blurry, the edges of his vision going black, and Lance sagged forward, falling before Keith caught him. His face was pressed in the red paladin’s chest, and he weakly looked up into dark eyes, desperately conveying his fear, confusion.

Heartbreak.

“I’m sorry,” Keith spoke, voice soft, and Lance knew he really meant it.

Everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> muahahaha


	4. 4

Keith kept his bayard close to his chest as he ran, quickly dodging behind his lion’s hind legs where he could see the Galra, but they couldn’t see him. He watched as a few soldiers filed out of his lion, walking towards an old, wiry woman clad in a long purple cloak that obscured her face, save for her long white hair and pointed chin.

“He’s not inside,” one of the Galra soldiers reported.

The witch lifted her head. “Span out and find him.”

Keith snuck around to where he and Lance had pitched camp the night before- by his lion’s front paw. He felt himself breathe out a sigh of relief when he found that none of Lance’s things were there- nothing to indicate his presence.

They’d never know he was here.

Keith's eyes went to his helmet and jacket. He'd leave them behind- he wouldn't need them, after this. But Lance might.

Lance….

Keith clenched his jaw, shaking the thought from his head. He couldn't do this- he had to _focus_. So Keith cleared his mind as he ducked, listening for the Galra soldier headed his way.

He took a deep breath, feeling adrenaline trickle through his limbs, making him clutch his bayard sword tight. When the Galra passed him, Keith shot out, and stabbed straight through his armor, putting a hand over his mouth, muffling his cry.

He waited until the soldier stopped squirming in his arms, going limp before Keith yanked his sword out, and let him fall to the floor.

The red paladin considered taking the Galra’s weapon before he decided better of it, keeping his bayard at his side and ducking back behind his lion’s paw. He peeked out at the Galra ship.

The woman was nowhere to be found, but sentries had been placed by his lion’s mouth, guarding and keeping watch.

Keith snuck up and, when he was close enough, he charged, letting out a yell.

He took out the two sentries, cutting one’s legs clean off, and then stabbing the other straight through the chest. He yanked his bayard out, and blocked a laser blast from a Galra soldier, his feet sliding back from the power of it. He charged at the Galra, dodging its shots, and used his sword to knock the gun out of the soldier’s hands before he ran him through.

Just as Keith was going to face another soldier, his body was suddenly frozen in place- a purple glow surrounding him.

Keith gazed wide-eyed at his still form, his heart pounding hard in his ears.

“That’s quite enough,” a chilling voice spoke, breaking through the silence.

Then she stepped into view- the Galra witch. Her face was half masked by the hood of her cloak, but Keith noticed the purple of her skin- just barely caught the yellow glow of her eyes.

If he could shiver, he would have.

The witch raised her chin, looking down at the red paladin.

“Do you know who I am?” she asked.

Keith kept silent, sewing his mouth shut stubbornly, fixing a glare on her.

“No? Very well. You shall find out, soon enough.”

Keith tried his hardest to break from the spell- to move his arm and attack--

“Where are the other paladins?” the witch asked.

Keith felt his heart jump, and tried not to look towards the forest.

“I don’t know,” he spat out.

The witch looked at him skeptically, glaring at him with yellow eyes.

“You’re alone?”

Keith’s heart lodged itself in his throat, and a surge of power coursed through him- from where, he had no idea.

He broke the spell, his body tingling from the shock of the paralyzation, and swung his bayard at the witch with a cry.

She deflected it with her hand- a static glow surrounding her as she pushed back hard against Keith’s sword, sending it flying too far for him to reach.

She caught him by the neck, now, lifting him off his feet.

“You’re a powerful one, aren’t you? Like a Galra soldier… just as Zarkon spoke of.”

Keith’s hands were on her bony wrists, and he tried to pry them off. His vision faded to black, and he fixed a glare on her as he struggled, squirming in her grasp.

She dropped him, and he fell to his knees, gasping for breath, the world spinning around him.

“I’m going to ask, again.  _Are you alone?"_

Keith coughed, throat bruised and arms shaking from their position supporting him. His palms were covered in red dirt.

He didn’t speak.

The witch scoffed. “Take him,” she spoke.

Just as the soldiers stepped towards him, Keith’s hand went to his belt, and grabbed the hilt of his knife.

As hands grabbed his arms, he twisted out of their grasps, and launched at the Galra witch.

She sensed him, turned around, and sent a shock through his body so powerful he seized completely. A cry made its way up Keith's throat, but was caught before it could escape. He let out a raw gasp, feeling his body convulse.

He fell to the floor, once more, static coursing through his limbs, making him shake.

“You have a strong spirit,” the taunting voice came to his ears. “We will fix that.”

The Galra soldiers dragged him away.

* * *

When Lance woke up, he was lying in the edge of the forest, a roof of red leaves above him. Lance took a moment to remember where he was, and what had happened.

Keith.

Lance sat up with a gasp, and then a groan left his lips.

A pain throbbed at the base of his skull, insistent and sharp.

“Keith…” Lance murmured, looking around him, feeling panic hitch itself into the center of his chest, clinging to his pounding heart.

The red paladin was nowhere to be found. Lance’s bayard was on the floor beside him. He picked it up.

 _“Keith!”_ he shouted, now, his voice high with anxiety. He stood up, and swayed on his feet.

“No... no, no, no, no, no, no--”

Lance ran out the forest, then fast along green moss-towards Red.

She wasn’t there.

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck- _no._

“Keith!” Lance shouted.

He stumbled into their campsite, into the crevice where Red had been.

Where Keith had been.

Where he had faced the Galra, all on his own- like a _fucking idiot_.

A fucking brave, stupid, heroic _idiot._

A sob caught in Lance’s throat, and he shoved it back.

He was alone. And Keith was in trouble.

And there was nothing Lance could do.

He paced around the campsite, hands bunched in his hair, pulling hard at it. Tears blurred his vision, and he forced them back- closed his eyes when they burned.

His foot kicked against something hard, and he opened his eyes, looking down.

Keith’s bayard.

Lance fell to his knees, reached out to it with shaky fingers. He held it in his hand.

It reacted to his touch, glowing for a moment. The weapon did not emerge, however.

It felt warm in his palm- like fire.

Lance didn’t notice the tears until he felt them- wet on his face.

“Keith….”

He held the bayard close to his chest, and let the sobs leave his throat.

* * *

Lance didn’t know how much time had passed since Keith had been taken by the Galra. Every day, though, Lance swam to Blue, trying to get her to respond, shouting at her mutely under the water, until his lungs ached and screamed. He nearly drowned, a few times, but found that he hardly cared.

He needed to save Keith. He needed to get to him, before it was too late.

And he couldn’t do that if he was stranded on this _god forsaken planet_.

Lance was soaked and cold every night- he didn’t dare to go into the forest without Keith, not trusting himself to be there alone.

So he’d sit in their old campsite, and try not to freeze to death.

He had found Keith’s knife, and his helmet, and listened constantly for the others, _praying_ they'd reach him. But they didn't.

Lance had found Keith's jacket, too. Every night he’d hold the stupid, impractical thing, and it made him feel a little less alone.

It seemed like ages had passed, and Lance was starting to get convinced he’d die there.

How long was it a person could last without food? Only a few weeks, maybe. Lance had water, but it wasn’t enough.

He didn’t even feel hungry anymore, though. Just tired. Just cold.

Just alone.

One morning, Lance didn’t get up from his spot curled by their burnt out campfire. He felt no need to- he couldn’t feel Blue, he was tired, and his limbs hardly had the energy to move him, anymore.

He didn’t think he could ever miss Keith so much.

Lance’s fingers went to his lips, and he tried to remember the way Keith felt there, the warm slide of him, and how his hands had held Lance’s cheeks with such care, such desperation.

Letting out a shaky sigh, Lance rubbed his arm stubbornly over his eyes, trying to keep the tears back.

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t think about him.

So he just went back to sleep.

A few hours later, when the sun was high in the lavender sky, a noise woke him.

 _“Lance,”_ a voice called, echoed in a chilling manner, as if sounding inside his head. He couldn't decipher who it belonged to, but it gave him a rush of energy.

Lance sat up, instantly awake, head spinning as he tried to gather himself.

He listened for a while. Then he called out.

“Hello?”

Silence. Then the voice, again, calling from far away.

“ _Lance_.”

He whipped his head towards the source of the noise.

It was past the lake, off towards the forest.

Lance got up, abandoning Keith’s jacket, and the bayards, and the helmet.

He walked towards the burning red, the pale white.

When he got to the forest, the voice rang clearer.

_“Lance.”_

His heart nearly stopped in his chest at what he saw.

Keith was standing at the edge of the forest, facing Lance, a smile on his face.

Lance paused, eyes wide, before he broke into a sprint, running towards Keith.

“Keith!”

He reached his friend, and hugged him, letting out a quivering laugh. When he pulled away he beamed happily, eyes filled with tears as he s[ple.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were still here? I was so worried- where’s your lion? What happened with the Galra?”

Keith smiled, then, and shook his head slowly.

Lance frowned. “What? What does that mean?”

Keith kept smiling. Then he turned his back to Lance, and walked off into the forest.

“ _Keith_ , wait, where are you going? Keith!”

Lance followed him, running deeper and deeper into the forest.

He kept his eyes on the sight of Keith’s back, and though he ran the hardest he could, Keith was always the same distance away- close, but just out of his reach.

Then he disappeared.

_He will never love you._

Lance froze, eyes wide. He looked around for the source of the voice, but couldn’t find it.

 _How could he? Just_ look _at you!_

A feeling of dread overtook the blue paladin, made his body freeze with an otherworldly fear.

Lance put his hands over his ears, and shut his eyes tight.

“Stop...”

 _The weakest paladin. You’re pathetic. And he’s far more powerful than you will_ ever _be. You will only hold him back._

“Shut up.”

_He left you the moment he could- was relieved to be rid of you!_

“Shut _up!”_

“Lance.”

Lance opened his eyes wide, and looked up.

Gloved hands took his face. He couldn’t feel their warmth.

Keith.

Keith, Keith, Ke--

He stood up shakily, hands grabbing Keith’s wrists, the other boy’s palms still on Lances cheeks, fingers brushing back his hair.

Lance let a cry leave his throat- it came out torn.

 _“Keith,"_  he murmured.

Those dark eyes looked into his own, deep into him. Keith pulled Lance closer.

Lance let out a shaky sigh, moving his hands up Keith’s arms, letting them cradle his neck as the shorter boy drew them closer, and closer--

Lance touched Keith’s face, and then he disappeared, and he was left grabbing at air.

A strangled sob left his throat. He reached his hands out, looking for the other boy.

“Lance.”

He turned around, heart dropping at the voice he heard.

She stood behind him, hands clasped, face sad.

_“Mom?"_

She didn’t change her expression- it was haunting, twisted with sorrow.

“Why did you leave me,  _mijo?"_

Lance swallowed back the sobs that threatened to leave him.

“I had to- I… I didn’t have a choice.”

Suddenly, his mother was surrounded by bodies- the bodies of Lance’s brothers and sisters- his father at his mom’s feet, dead hands clutching her legs.

Lance gasped, dropping to his knees, hands on his face, pushing back his hair, gripping on tight to it and pulling at the sweaty tendrils.

His fingers shook.

“Why did you leave me, _mijo?"_

Lance shook his head hard, unable to look away. “I had to defeat Zarkon- I had to save you, mom. I wanted to save you all- we... we needed to save the world.”

His mother smiled then, and it was empty.

“It’s too late for that.”

“No,” Lance sobbed.

“Goodbye, Lance.”

_"No--"_

And she disappeared.

“Mom!”

Lance stood up, his knees buckling before he steadied himself. His face was drenched with tears, and his body was shaking so hard he could hardly stand.

He turned around, and saw Keith’s retreating form.

“Keith- wait, stop!”

He ran after him.

 _"Please!_ Don’t leave me alone! _Keith!"_

He ran faster. The trees around him grew thicker, redder, angrier--

Then they cleared.

Lance looked around him- at the perfect circle of a clearing he ran into. Trees surrounded him- closed him in. Watched him.

He found Keith in the center, his back still to Lance.

Lance went forward, reaching out and grabbing Keith by the shoulder.

“Keith…”

Keith turned around.

Lance gasped, taking a step back.

His eyes were yellow- skin purple.

“No…”

Keith grinned, flashing sharp canines.

 _"No-_ this isn’t real, it isn’t--”

Keith took Lance by the arms, running his hands up where they gripped his shoulders.

“I’m real. _This_ is real,” Keith spoke.

Lance shook his head.

“No.”

Keith’s hands cupped Lance’s cheeks, his yellow eyes dancing with amusement, and he pulled him close, until their faces were mere inches apart.

“Kiss me, Lance.”

Lance tried to pull away. Keith’s grip was strong. He turned his face away.

“No…”

“I missed you. Everything was so cold….”

“Stop.”

“They took me into this room…”

Lance shut his eyes, trying to get the burning image of yellow out of them. He wanted to cover his ears, but Keith's hands held his arms in place.

“Tortured me… for _days_.”

_"Stop."_

“I called for you, Lance… _begged_ you to help me.”

Lance sagged forward, letting out a wet gasp.

“You never came for me.”

“I’m sorry,” Lance whispered.

“Why didn’t you save me?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Look what I’ve become.”

Lance shook his head, trembling.

_"Look at what they made me!"_

_"Please_ … stop.”

“It was so cold.”

 _“Keith,_ stop!”

Suddenly, Lance was tugged forward. He looked up, and saw yellow eyes evaporate into thin air. He was met, instead, with dark red vines covered in pearly white thorns- thorns that bit into his skin and drew blood as they curled around him, enveloping his arms, creeping up higher.

“What--”

Lance tugged back, letting out a cry as the barbed vine cut into him.

The red vines creeped up his neck, cupping his cheek.

_Relax._

Lance shut his eyes, shaking his head.

_It’s over, now._

Lance still resisted, trying to pull away, screaming with pain as the thorns cut deep into his skin, drawing blood that painted the white barbs as red as the vines they sat on.

“Let me _go!"_  Lance cried.

He was tugged further in, towards a gaping, dark hole in the middle on the clearing. He heard a rumble sound within it.

“No!”

Everything was cold- there was a piercing screech.

Ice covered the vines, creeped up them, burned Lance’s hands.

He shivered, as if all the heat had been sucked out of the atmosphere.

And he passed out.

* * *

“Jesus, it’s him!”

“Lance!”

Lance tried to focus, tried to regain control of his mind, but he could only say one thing.

“Keith…”

It was Shiro- his hands were grasping Lance’s arms. His cyber one felt cold through the torn material of Lance’s jacket. He shivered, remembering the burn of ice….

Shiro frowned. “No, Lance, we haven’t found Keith, yet… we were hoping he’d be here--”

Lance snapped back to reality, and he met Shiro’s grey eyes, his own wide and panicked.

“The Galra- Shiro, the Galra took him!”

Shiro looked at him like he was a madman, and kept Lance down when he tried to sit up. “Wait- what? Lance, you're not making any sense.”

“We need to go- we need to get my lion out of the lake!”

“Lance, your lion is here.”

And she was- Lance looked up, seeing his friends, his fellow paladins surrounding him, save for Keith. He was nestled in the protective curl of Blue. He wasn’t in the forest, anymore, but out by the lake.

Where Keith’s lion had been.

“What…” he murmured, and tried to sit up, again.

His body ached with protest, and he felt the blood, now, hot and dripping from deep wounds.

“Lance! You shouldn’t move- you’re bleeding,” Shiro instructed.

“Keith’s bayard and helmet- his knife and jacket, too, they’re here, he was here, I _swear--”_

“He’s right, Shiro!” a voice sounded out. Pidge?

“Yeah, we’ve just found it. It was by some burnt out campfire.” That was Hunk. Lance looked up, and saw Keith's things in the yellow paladin's arms. He felt a surge of protectiveness- wanted to take the items back.

“So the Galra really took him?” Shiro spoke, and his voice was shaken, laced with disbelief.

Lance nodded, and he sat himself up with Shiro’s help. “Yes. Blue was at the bottom of that lake- she was hidden. We were in that forest over there,” he pointed towards the red- it was still bright outside, how much time had passed?- and continued, “when the Galra came. They found his lion, and Keith… he knocked me out, and went to face them alone.”

Shiro frowned, worry wrinkling his brow. “That sounds like him….”

“We need to get him back. We need to help him- Shiro, I don’t know how long it’s been, but he’s in danger.”

Shiro nodded, all business, now. “Okay. You're right, and we'll go get him back. But first we need to heal you.”

Lance growled, blood boiling. “We don’t have _time!"_

“You won’t be able to help in your state, Lance. Besides, we need to come up with a plan before we blindly charge the Galra. We don’t even know where they _are_ \- it’s going to take some time.”

Lance tried to push down the sob stuck in his throat. He felt desperate- relieved he had been found, but filled with a new fuel. He wanted revenge, he wanted Keith back.

He wanted to fight.

But he took a deep breath, and looked into Shiro's patient eyes.

“You will get me out of the crypod when you go, right? If I’m not awake by then?”

Shiro nodded. “Yes.”

Lance took another deep breath, then, and nodded. “Alright.”

Shiro gave Lance a smile, and activated the comm in his helmet. “Allura! We need to get Lance in a cryopod! We’re coming to you.”

After a second, Shiro lifted Lance onto his feet gently. “Are you okay to ride Blue? Just to Allura- she’s not far, she and Coran are waiting in the castle for us just past the atmosphere.”

Lance nodded, and took a step forward. He accepted the blue bayard that Hunk handed him, and felt his resolve harden.

“Let’s go.”


	5. 5

Keith downed his opponent with a final blow, chest heaving, arms shaking with exhaustion, and sweat soaking his skin. The sword in his hands was too heavy- too difficult to swing.

They sent another in- a tall, rock-like alien. Its eyes were a coal black with white pupils, and it towered to twice Keith’s height. He took a step back, and lifted his sword above his chest, willing his arms not to give away with fatigue.

The signal went off, and the battle began. This was the third opponent Keith had faced, today. He’d been in an interrogation room with Haggar (the witch who had taken him) for what seemed like hours, earlier. She’d had him tortured in an attempt at breaching his mind. However, Keith had remained resilient, and kept all the information she sought far away, tucked in a dark, desolate corner of his mind where a thick barrier protected it.

Keith lost track of the days. They all went the same, though. He’d be cuffed to a platform in the dark purple “interrogation” room, arms hung above him, and proceeded to be tortured for hours on end in an attempt at breaching his mind. Galra soldiers would beat him at Haggar’s request- he could feel a few broken ribs digging into his side, and bruises laced his skin. When Haggar would come out empty-handed, she’d give Keith an opportunity to give her what she wanted- of which he always refused- before sending him to the ring to fight until he’d collapsed from exhaustion.

She wouldn’t have him killed- Keith knew that much. He overheard the soldiers talking of his capture, and how vital Keith’s information on the paladins was to Zarkon. So, for now, Keith knew he’d be safe.

If he could just hold out, that was.

Keith dodged a blow from his opponent, but fell on his side from the quick movement, his damned stone sword overweighing him.

 _Since you’re so skilled with it,_  Haggar had taunted when she handed him the ridiculous weapon.

It fared him well enough, though, because Keith had yet to lose a match.

From his position on the ground, Keith tried to gather himself- tried to stand up, again. But the world was spinning, and he delayed for a moment.

A moment too long.

The rock-like alien stamped its foot down onto Keith’s left ankle, and he heard, and felt, a distinct _crack!_

Keith yelled out in agony, a fire-hot pain shooting up his leg and coursing through his body, making his limbs convulse before he forced himself to swallow down the pain, and focus on what was happening around him, the battle ring now enveloped in a red haze.

Though his vision blackened around the edges for a moment, Keith came back to just in time, and blocked himself from receiving a fatal strike from his opponent’s club, opposing it with his clunky sword, and falling back even more from the force of the blow.

The rock alien took a step back when Keith pushed at him, and he took the opportunity to roll off to the side, and get back onto his feet- his ankle screaming with protest, throbbing with excruciating pain with every thump of his fast-paced heart. Keith dodged sluggishly out of the way of another blow, and sent a fatal one to his opponent’s surprisingly susceptible gut.

The creature went down with a low howl, one that sounded like an avalanche, and Keith leaned heavily against the barricade of the arena, panting, trying to catch his breath, and letting out groans of pain in his base of his throat.

“Would you look at that?” an all-too familiar voice spoke above him. He looked up to find Haggar at the barricade. A smile was on her face. “Perhaps you’d like to take a break, now?”

Keith sent a menacing glare her way, and lifted his sword with an inhuman agility, pointing it under her chin, at the hollow of her throat. The crowd around them went silent, and Keith heard Galra soldiers aim laser guns at him- could hear them load, ready to fire.

Haggar lifted her hand, stopping them. She and Keith stared at one another for a long while, the red paladin glaring, and the witch looking amused.

“Send in the next one,” Keith spat out, sword still at her throat before he jerked it away, cutting at the hood to her robe before his sword retreated to his side.

He ignored the chuckle that escaped Haggar’s throat, and faced his next opponent.

He would not break.

* * *

Lance got blood all over Blue’s cockpit.

He didn't even realize how serious his injuries were until he was left alone in his lion, and expected to fly it to Allura’s castle-ship.

To be fair, though, Blue did all the work. She seemed to go on autopilot, knowing where to take him, and letting Lance bleed in the pilot’s seat as he blacked out and came to more times than he could count.

He hadn’t realized he’d made it onto the ship until Hunk was waking him up.

 _“Lance!”_ he shouted, shaking the blue paladin’s shoulders, his big hands gripping tight onto him.

“ _Ow_ \- what in the--” Lance slurred, opening his eyes to the sight of his worried friend.

“Oh, thank god, I thought you were dead,” Hunk blabbered, and Lance noticed the tears starting to form in Hunk’s eyes, the panic on his face. He instantly felt guilty.

“No, I’m fine. Sorry, buddy,” he grunted, reaching out an arm that Hunk took. He gently slung Lance’s arm around his shoulders, wrapped his other around his waist, and helped his friend out of Blue.

“You look terrible,” Hunk spoke, starting to ramble like he always did when he was nervous. “Like, worse than the hangover you had the morning after you found out you got into the fighter pilot class.”

Lance chuckled, and leaned into his friend, glad to be back with the yellow paladin. He'd never thought he'd see Hunk, again- didn't know if he'd get to hear his comforting voice one last time. “I don’t think I could ever look worse than that, Hunk.”

“Maybe you’re right,” his friend teased.

They made it into the castle after some struggle, and were instantly met with the others, who all rushed to Lance’s side, concerned looks on their faces, and hundreds of questions bombarding him. Voices overlapped one another, and Lance grew dizzy from the commotion.

 _"Guys_ , give him some space!” Shiro ordered. Everyone immediately backed off, and Coran stepped forward, taking Lance’s other arm.

“Right. Let’s get you to a pod, then.”

And he helped Hunk drag Lance to the medical bay. It took them a while, and Lance nearly blacked out a few times, but he made it mostly conscious.

Once he was in a pod, Lance reached out and grabbed Hunk’s arm before it closed. He looked into his friend’s eyes, and spoke in a low voice.

“Don’t let them leave to get Keith without me. If they try, you gotta wake me up.”

Hunk nodded, and gave Lance a warm smile.

“Sure thing.”

Lance looked at the yellow paladin for a moment more before he stepped back, and closed his eyes.

The pod closed with a whoosh, and Lance was enveloped in darkness.

* * *

Keith opened his eyes to a purple ceiling, and wanted to instantly shut them, again.

He groaned in pain, his hands itching to curl around his aching abdomen, but unable to- lifted above him by metallic, Galra-tech cuffs.

The red paladin yanked at them helplessly, ignoring the pain it caused his bruised and beaten body. He winced as he felt a rib prod him in the wrong way- tried to take a deep breath, but unable to.

How many days had it been since the Galra had taken him? He wasn’t sure.

He hoped Lance was okay.

Lance….

Fuck, Keith really hoped he was okay.

Shaking the thought from his head, Keith observed his surroundings. He was in the interrogation room- must have been brought here when he was passed out in his cell.

Haggar was relentless.

Keith knew all about her, now- how she was the witch that had given Shiro his cyber arm. She’d bragged about that relentlessly Keith’s first day there.

He’d held on fairly well, all things considered. With Haggar’s grueling mind torture methods, Keith was surprised he had lasted this long.

Haggar drew countless fears from Keith’s head- things he couldn’t keep behind the barrier; thoughts he had to sacrifice in order to keep safe the important ones. So far, Haggar had tortured Keith with his fear of abandonment- conjuring up cruel images of his orphaned childhood. She even drew out memories of the night Keith lost Shiro- the night his best and only friend was gone forever. This drew more fearful fits of hallucination concerning his new friends. Haggar conjured up countless images of Keith losing the other paladins... of being left behind by them.

Of being forgotten.

However, she hadn’t gotten a hold of Keith’s current biggest weakness.

Lance.

When she was around, he’d kept all thoughts of Lance stored in the back of his mind with the other important ones, far from Haggar’s reach, guarded by the sturdy walls mounted around it. She tried at those walls relentlessly, so many times he’d lost count.

Lance was something new- something Keith knew he’d be unable to handle risking. He’d never gotten so close to a person besides Shiro- but that was different. What he felt for Lance was raw, vulnerable… _scary_. Keith wasn’t sure how to _not_ be terrified over losing him.

And the overbearing blue paladin had been at the forefront of Keith’s mind for days, now.

He couldn’t help it, really. Keith used thoughts of Lance to calm him- to distract him from everything going on. To distract from the pain. He knew it was risky, but he couldn’t resist. And, if Haggar wasn’t around, then he assumed he’d be safe.

Keith’s ankle throbbed with pain in a dull manner, now- in tune with the thump of his heartbeat.

His leg was mostly numb.

Keith heard doors slide open, heard footsteps walking in.

He lifted his head, and saw none other than Haggar walking towards him.

Quickly, Keith reinforced the barrier he’d put around his mind- around the important thoughts. Then the red paladin steeled his face, making sure no emotion made itself evident.

“Greetings, paladin,” Haggar spoke, seeming far more amused than usual. It set Keith off- made a bout of nervousness dig into his gut. “Did you have a nice rest?”

He didn’t reply.

“Don’t want to talk?”

He kept up his silence.

“Shame… I found out such interesting news about your fellow paladins.”

_Lance._

Keith’s blank stare dropped for a moment, revealing a flicker of interest. A moment was just enough.

Haggar grinned wickedly.

“I’ve tracked them… found their location. And, it seems they’ve found each other.”

Keith felt a shock of relief hit him hard in the chest.

Lance had been saved. He was with the others.

He was _safe._

A smile found its way to his face, despite himself. He laughed.

“Then I win,” Keith murmured, a wide smile on his face.

Haggar’s face hardened. “Don’t be so quick to assume.”

But Keith was smiling so wide- he was ecstatic.

“If they’re together, you don’t stand a chance.”

“Without the Red Lion, they cannot form Voltron. We will soon learn how powerful they really are.”

“Powerful enough.”

Haggar paced around Keith, now. He tried to keep an eye on her, but couldn’t. He felt her bony hand touch his shoulder- fingernails scraping his neck.

He suppressed a shiver, keeping his face straight.

“I suppose we shall see,” she spoke from his left, “when they inevitably come for you. But as long as we have you, we have the _advantage,”_ she hissed, long fingers brushing his cheek. Keith tried pulling away.

“An advantage won’t be enough,” he spat, anger lacing his tone.

Haggar seized Keith by his neck, then, and brought him face to face with her. “I wouldn’t be so smug, paladin. I know of more ways to break you.”

And then Keith felt a familiar prod- a small nudge in his mind that suddenly became sharp, like a knife piercing his skull. He bit back a scream, tried to keep his thoughts away from her--

But, in his sudden panic, his brain brought him the image of dark blue eyes to calm him. Lance’s carefree smile filled his mind, and Keith could hear his voice- his laugh… feel him on his lips… in his arms.

It was only a brief second of thought, but it just enough.

Haggar smiled wide, and it sent a chill down Keith’s spine.

“Very interesting… very, _very_ interesting… and _pathetic."_

Keith squirmed in her grasp, moving his arms forward in an attempt to attack her, but earning a shock from his cuffs, instead.

“You humans… you’re so feeble. So prone to _weakness_. Just when you thought you’d won, paladin, you’ve given me all the information I need.”

“Don’t,” Keith gasped, struggling in her hold, “don’t you _dare--”_

She let go of him, and called to a guard. One approached her.

“Take him to the cells. I’ve no further use for him.”

Keith’s protests echoed through the dark, purple room.

* * *

“I’m afraid it’s not your paladin armor, but it’s the best we’ve got at our disposal,” Allura spoke as Lance inspected his new armor- a make much like Allura’s, but with a silver base with black and blue accents. It was not as thick as his usual armor- it felt almost like a flight suit, but it was made with a powerful material, and would do well in defending him. That much Lance knew.

“Thanks, Allura,” he spoke, taking the helmet she offered him.

Lance had been in the cryopod for two days. In that time, the team had been preparing for “Operation Save Keith”, as Pidge had dubbed it.

Coran had tracked the Galra’s location and found their main ship, and Allura detected Red’s essence on board. Shiro came up with the extraction plan.

They’d take Pidge’s lion to the Galra ship, and leave the other lions on Allura’s castle, since Pidge’s was the only one with a cloaking device. Pidge had also enhanced the castle's cloaking device, so they could keep close to the Galra ship in case of emergency, and go undetected by the Galra radar. Allura and Coran would monitor the castle, and keep watch of the Galra.

Hunk and Pidge would go fetch Red, while Shiro and Lance would go in and search for Keith. With Shiro’s knowledge of Galra ships, he created a map and marked out potential places the Galra could be holding Keith, and Keith’s lion. There was such an array of possibilities, the team was almost deterred. 

Almost.

Lance was ready to head off the moment he was up to key with the plan. However, as everyone went to get suited up and prepared, Shiro pulled Lance to the side.

“You sure you’re up for this?” he asked, eyes worried.

Lance fixed a glare on his leader. “Yeah, I am. Are you?”

“Lance…” Shiro sighed. “I wasn’t stranded on a lifeless planet for three weeks with no food. Did you even eat yet, by the way?”

Lance squirmed in his spot, but kept a straight face. “Yeah, well, I wasn’t alone,” he replied. “And no- but I feel fine. I’m all hyped up on that cryopod mumbo jumbo. I’ll eat when we get Keith back.”

Shiro took Lance’s arm when he tried to walk away.

“Lance, you need to keep in mind… we don't know how long the Galra have had Keith. He could be… he could be dangerous. Or changed. We have to prepare for the worst. Because, right now, Keith is the only thing Zarkon has against us. And I have no doubt that he’s going to have Haggar take full advantage of that.”

Lance clenched his jaw, looking away, not meeting Shiro’s eyes. “Keith is tough,” he murmured.

“That may be true, and he could be fine. But just….”

“Yeah, yeah- I get it. You don’t want me to get my hopes up, _whatever_. Look, Shiro, I _can’t do that!_  Keeping my hopes up is the only thing getting me through this chaos, and everything that's happened since we left Earth. It’s the only thing that helps me believe this crusade of ours- defeating Zarkon, all that biz, that any of this has a chance! Keith sacrificed himself for _me_. And I can’t accept anything less than getting him back to us in one piece. So that’s what we’re going to do.”

Shiro smiled at that, albeit sadly, and nodded. Then he gestured at Lance to follow him. “Come, I want to give you something.”

Lance followed Shiro down the halls, until they reached a room.

Keith’s room.

Lance froze in the doorway, never having been in Keith’s room, before. He felt like he was violating the red paladin- doing something that he shouldn’t. But, when Shiro walked in there freely, Lance took a deep breath before following.

Shiro picked up something from Keith’s desk.

His bayard.

“I wanted to keep this here for him- for when he gets back.”

He handed it to Lance.

“But you should give it to him. When we find him.”

Lance blinked before taking it. Once again, it burned hotly in his hands. He considered asking Shiro about the strange feeling before he decided not to.

He clasped it to the harness of his suit.

“I’ll make sure it gets to him.”

Shiro gave him a smile. “I know you will. Now, come on. Let’s go get him.”

* * *

Keith woke to find himself in a room he had not yet been in. He blinked, trying to remember how he got there.

He was in his cell… he remembered that. Haggar had him tossed in there after she’d gone into his mind…. Then a soldier had come in… he recalled fighting the Galra before being shocked with something. Probably his cuffs

That was the last bit of his memory.

Groaning at the headache that blossomed in his temple, Keith tried to sit up from his reclined position.

But found he couldn’t.

He registered it all, now- the straps around his wrists, ankles, and chest. His left ankle was throbbing with pain against the restraint, and he tried to move it into a more comfortable position, but only succeeded in sending a shock of pain through his leg.

Keith struggled in his seat, pulling and resisting against his binds.

That was when he heard a laugh.

“There’s no use doing that,” Haggar’s voice greeted him. “You won’t be getting out.”

“What is this? What am I doing here?” Keith questioned, trying his best to keep the panic out of his voice- instead replacing it with venom.

“In time, young paladin. In time,” she whispered soothingly as she came into his view from the right, holding a needle filled with a purple substance.

Keith struggled more, cursed the witch, and Zarkon, and the Galran empire as he fought back to the best of his ability. He shut his eyes tight when the needle went into his neck, and pierced through skin into a pulsing vein, injecting the purple substance into his bloodstream.

Keith tried to think of Voltron- of his new family, and how he knew they’d come for him. He kept images of them smiling in his mind, the promise of people to come home to. He wasn’t alone anymore, Keith knew that, and he tried to let that thought soothe him.

Then he thought of blue eyes- of Lance’s laugh as he tried to calm down. Haggar knew about him, anyway, so there was no use keeping it hidden.

So Keith thought of the blue paladin- of his wide smile, of the promise of surfing, of warm tan skin, a teasing joke- the way he was the only person to ever get to Keith, straight through his barrier, and wormed right into his chest, too far deep to get out.

And he thought of how Lance held him in that forest... how he seemed to want to do so much more. Keith thought of their kiss- fleeting but electric, and strong, and breathtaking.

As he felt liquid fire course through his veins- as his back arched with a piercing agony, and his skin beaded with hot sweat- Keith focused on the image of Lance’s eyes, and how he needed to live long enough to see them, again.

* * *

Lance’s fingers fluttered at Keith’s bayard as Pidge’s lion slowly made its way to the Galra ship. He wanted the green paladin to speed up and get them there as fast as possible; his need to be on that ship was driving him insane.

He was so close to getting Keith back.

The red bayard thrummed with energy, hot against Lance’s hip.

Finally, Pidge’s lion made it onto the ship completely undetected. Lance activated his helmet, let the shield to it go down as they all followed Shiro off Green and onto the Galra ship.

Once inside, the paladins split up. Hunk and Pidge went to find Keith’s lion, and Shiro and Lance went towards the prison cells in search of the red paladin.

Shiro, having memorized the patterns of the sentries, successfully snuck them past guards without any problems. He had spent the two days Lance was in the pod explaining the pattern to Hunk and Pidge, so the two should be fine as well, he had reassured. The other pair hardly contacted the two, save for updates on their location.

As Shiro led Lance through the cell blocks, the blue paladin felt a pull in his gut- a queasy sensation that made him feel as though he was getting further and further away from Keith. He wanted horribly to go the other way- felt it like the pull of the moon at a tide. He tried to keep the sensation at bay, deciding it was nervousness, and not wanting Shiro to think he was second-guessing their mission.

However, as they inspected cell after cell through the key of Shiro’s Galra tech arm, each proved empty. They released what captives they found, kept them close, and guided them to escape pods once they had checked every cell.

But Keith was nowhere to be found.

“I don’t understand,” Shiro spoke when they had finished, seeming frustrated. “Where would they be keeping him?”

Lance finally spoke up, unable to keep it back.

“Shiro? I, uhm, I think I have an idea.”

The black paladin looked doubtful. “Lance… you don’t know this ship. How would you know where Keith is?” he seemed curious, inspecting the blue paladin.

“Well, I’ve had this… feeling? When we went to the cells, I got this kind of tug in my gut- I felt like… like I knew we were going the wrong way. Like, we were heading West, but I felt a pull towards the East sector.”

Shiro blinked, shocked. “Why didn’t you say anything, earlier?”

Lance shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is I think I know where Keith is.”

 _"Uhm, guys,"_ Hunk’s voice sounded on the comms. " _We’ve got a bit of uhm… a_ situation."

Before they could even ask, an alarm blared through the ship, pink lights flashing on the purple interior.

“Shit,” Lance cursed. “Shiro, come on! This way!”

They started running towards the East wing of the ship, Lance leading them. While they snuck past sentries, Shiro questioned the yellow and green paladin.

“ _Pidge, Hunk_ \- what happened?”

“ _We may or may not have--_ ” Hunk began.

“ _We miscalculated_ ,” Pidge interrupted. “ _A sentry caught us sneaking onto Red._ ”

“ _We took it down, but not before it activated the alarm,”_ Hunk apologized.

Shiro cursed under his breath. “It’s fine- it doesn’t matter, now. Send your location to the castle and have Allura and Coran get you guys and the lion. As far as they know, it’s only you two on the ship. We’re getting to Keith, now. Allura?” Shiro called.

“ _I’ve got it,_ ” the princess replied. “ _Hunk, I need your location_.”

“ _Shiro_ \--” Hunk protested.

“Get Red out of here, Hunk!” Lance spoke, now.

The yellow paladin seemed hesitant, but he finally relented. “ _Ten four._ ”

Then they cut off, and Shiro and Lance ran towards the other side of the ship- opposite the cells, and one level down.

Shiro paused as they grew warmer, stopping Lance and having them duck behind a corner as a group of Galra soldiers ran past, likely to where Pidge and Hunk had been.

“I recognize this,” Shiro spoke, breathless. “I think this is where they do their experiments.”

Lance glanced at Shiro’s cyberarm, and felt dread coil itself in his gut. “You don’t think they…?”

Shiro looked grim. “Only one way to find out,” he murmured as they finally arrived at the vast hall that contained the so-called “experimentation” rooms. “Do you know which way he is?”

Lance closed his eyes, concentrating. “I-I’m not sure. It’s all a jumble, I think we’re too close to tell.”

“Alright. We don’t have much time. You take the left, I’ll take the right. We meet back here once we’ve checked every room.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “How will I get in?”

Shiro smiled. “You’ve got a gun for a bayard. Shoot the keypads.”

Oh. Duh.

Lance nodded. “Alright. Tell me if you find him.”

“The moment I do,” Shiro agreed. “Same for you, Lance.”

The blue paladin nodded. Shiro clapped his shoulder before running off.

Lance wasted no time.

He blasted open and searched through four rooms, taking down two Galra soldiers before he finally found Keith.

The red paladin was in the fifth room, third on the right. Lance had been starting to lose hope when he saw a chair, and a figure strapped to it.

Keith.

Lance let out a laugh- he almost couldn’t believe he had found him.

“Keith!” Lance shouted, enthralled.

Keith seemed like he was looking at Lance through a haze- face contorted with confusion.

Lance almost didn’t notice the Galra soldier running at him, until he was being shot at.

He activated his shield, blocking the shots, and shooting his own gun at the soldier.

He wasn’t too lucky.

Before he could even register it- could even hear Keith’s shout of warning- Lance was knocked down from the back by a second soldier. The sentry Lance had been fighting used this opportunity to knock Lance’s bayard out of his hands, sending it flying to the nearest wall, out of the paladin’s reach.

Lance was hauled onto his feet by the sentry in front of him, a gun pointed under his chin. He felt another barrel at his back, courtesy of the second guard.

“You’re out of moves, paladin,” the Galra in front of him spat with a twisted smirk.

Lance looked over the Galra’s shoulder at Keith, bathed in darkness. He could hardly see his friend- he couldn’t get to him. He _needed_ to get to him.

Keith’s bayard burned hot like coals at Lance’s belt, seemed to vibrate with an otherworldly, Altean energy.

Lance’s hand went to the bayard, and he yanked it out of its holster. The red blade shot out, and Lance twisted out of his captor’s grasp, earning a shot from a laser gun that whizzed past his ear, nearly burning the hair off his head. With a speed Lance didn’t know he possessed, he spun around, and stabbed Keith’s bayard through the chest of the soldier behind him, yanked it out, then turned on the stunned first soldier, and downed him with one blow.

Both the Galra fell at Lance’s feet, and the blue paladin was met with Keith’s astounded voice.

“Lance…” he seemed to gasp, and Lance could see his face, now- could see the look of astonishment in dark eyes.

The bayard emitted a low hum, hot in Lance's hands, and he felt weak on his knees, but kept himself standing. He made his way to Keith, the world spinning, his legs numb. He was suddenly exhausted.

“Lance,” Keith murmured as the blue paladin tugged at the restraints with shaky hands.

Lance blinked, inspecting the metal bands. “I need…” he mumbled before looking at Keith’s bayard, and using it to slice clean through the metal. He willed Keith's blade to retreat, and it did.

 _"Lance,"_  Keith spoke again in earnest, reaching out for the blue paladin, now, free of his binds. He grasped Lance’s arms.

Keith’s hands were scabbed and bloody and frail, and Lance suddenly sagged into the boy’s grasp, putting his arms around the paladin, drawing him close, and hugging him tight.

“I hate you,” Lance found himself gasping out, pushing back the tears he felt burn at his eyes. “I fucking hate you.”

“I know,” Keith murmured, hand flying up to cup the curve of Lance’s sweaty neck, beneath his helmet.

Lance pulled away, now, looking anywhere but Keith’s eyes. He settled with the paladin's shoulder. He handed Keith his bayard. “This is yours,” he spoke, and the red paladin accepted it. “We have to go- Shiro is waiting for us. Are you good to walk?”

Keith nodded, and stood up.

He immediately buckled, falling to the ground before Lance caught him, and steadied him, noticing his limp.

“Your leg…?” he questioned.

“Ankle. It’s just- here, support my left,” Keith grunted, slinging an arm around Lance’s shoulders. The blue paladin held on tight to Keith’s waist.

As they went to retrieve Lance’s bayard, the blue paladin contacted Shiro.

“Shiro, I’ve got Keith. Fifth door down, third on the right. We’re going to meet you at the middle.”

“ _Got it,_ ” Shiro replied. “ _Good work, Lance._ ”

Just as the paladins made their way to the door, a figure blocked the way.

And, suddenly, Lance and Keith were thrown by a powerful force towards the wall behind them. Keith let out a yell of pain when he landed on his injured foot, then crumpled into a heap. Before Lance could get to him, he was frozen by a purple static that enveloped his body, keeping him in place- so close to Keith, but unable to reach him.

“You stay there,” a voice ordered him.

Haggar.

Lance’s eyes widened, and he tried to move, tried to get to Keith as he saw the Galra witch walk towards him. Keith backed against the wall, a snarl on his face, his hand on his bayard.

“Get away from us!” Keith shouted, withdrawing the blade.

Haggar raised a hand towards Lance, and Keith froze. “I don’t think you want to do that,” she spoke.

“Don’t listen to her!” Lance shouted. He wished he could move so he could retrieve his own bayard.

“Why not?” the witch asked. “I think he’d like to hear what I have to say… wouldn’t you?” she spoke, voice haunting.

Keith suddenly seemed entranced- all menace melting off his face and leaving behind a blank expression. His bayard arm dropped slowly to his side.

“In fact, I think he’s _intrigued_. We’ve spent some time together, your paladin and I.”

She stepped closer to Keith, bent down at eye level with him.

“Don’t touch him!” Lance shouted, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Haggar reached out to Keith, brushed her fingers against his cheek, and whispered an ancient drawl that Lance couldn’t comprehend.

Suddenly, Keith let out a sharp gasp, body arching before he leaned forward, moaning in pain.

 _"Keith!"_  Lance shouted, struggling to break the witch’s spell so he could reach his friend. “Keith, what’s happening?!”

The red paladin didn’t reply- _couldn’t_. He just dropped his bayard to the floor, curled his arms around his abdomen, and let out a yell.

 _"What are you doing to him?!"_  Lance shouted at the Galra witch.

Haggar smiled and stood on her feet, watching Keith writhe. “Helping him discover his true form.”

Suddenly, Keith stopped.

When he looked at Lance, the blue paladin's blood went cold.

Keith’s skin was purple, eyes a glowing yellow. His canines were sharp, and large purple ears sat on his head. And he looked at Lance with so much hatred he wondered if it was Keith at all, or just some horrible apparition. Nothing but a terrible nightmare.

“ _No_ ,” Lance spoke, voice weak. “No, no- what did you _do?!"_  he accused.

“I did nothing. Your paladin is half Galra. I merely introduced him to what was inside of him. This is who he _is_. One of your sworn enemy has been among you all along… betraying you. Tricking you into _caring_ for him.”

Lance shook his head, and was surprised to find he could do so. He could move, now, free of the spell, but found that he did not want to. He simply stared at Keith, who was now fixing a menacing glare on Lance.

“Seems he wants blood,” Haggar spoke, a smile on her lips. “Many young Galra do. Shall we satisfy him?” she asked.

Then Keith was on his feet, bayard back in his hand and drawn as he jumped at Lance.

The blue paladin acted fast, rolling out of the way, grabbing his bayard, and using his shield to block Keith’s next blow. The sword came crashing onto Lance at an incredible speed- Keith was fast, and Lance knew that. He only barely managed to block the paladin’s blows.

Too slow, Keith caught Lance in his side, sending him to the ground.

Luckily, his armor blocked the cut. But where Keith had struck, Lance could feel a deep bruise blossoming. He got back on his feet.

“Keith, buddy, this isn’t you! I’m not going to fight you!” Lance shouted as he deflected blow after blow, pushing back with his shield, but not daring to use his gun. He withdrew it, lowered the bayard in his hand, where the gun retreated back into its basic form. However, Keith ignored the gesture- payed no mind to Lance's words as he jumped forward and attacked hard, his moves growing more and more aggressive with every strike.

“Snap out of it!” Lance ordered.

Keith let out a loud grunt as he caught his sword on Lance’s shield, then pulled back, using his sword to knock Lance off his feet, where he went crashing onto his back. Keith pinned him down, now, sword going to his neck before Lance blocked it, shoved the sword aside, and kicked Keith off of him, rolling back onto his feet.

However, the paladin just charged at Lance, again, not tiring even in the slightest. It seemed as though his ankle didn’t even bother him, anymore. As if the pain had suddenly left it. Keith wasn’t even limping- showed no signs of exhausting out soon.

As Keith charged at Lance, he went for a different move, knocking Lance’s bayard out of his hand, sending it flying across the room. Lance put up his shield as Keith struck at him, again.

“Keith, _please!"_  Lance cried, removing one of his hands from his shield, and using it to reach out to the paladin’s shoulder. “It’s me! Look! Just _look!"_

Keith hesitated, just the slightest, but it was enough.

Lance tilted his shield slightly, moving Keith’s sword to the side, and using his free hand to cup Keith’s cheek.

Yellow eyes blinked with shock, and Keith lowered his sword, but just barely. He looked at Lance.

“It’s me,” Lance whispered, trying to get through to the red paladin. “It’s Lance. Please, Keith, I know you can hear me.”

Just as Keith seemed to come to, Haggar’s chilling incantation sounded up, again, growing into a shout as she chanted her spell.

Keith let out a shout of pain, eyes closing tight, sword lifting up and pushing at Lance’s shield with renewed vigour.

Lance didn’t back down, though. And, even if he was probably going to get killed for it, he removed his shield, then his helmet, which he dropped to the floor.

Keith’s sword fell to his side, surprised with the lack of resistance.

Before the red paladin could charge at him, Lance drew him close, holding him tight with both arms, and burying his face in the sweaty skin of Keith’s neck.

“I’m not leaving you alone. Because you’re not alone,” he murmured, a hand straying to the back of Keith’s head where it cupped his hair, tangling fingers within the long strands. “I don’t care if you’re Galra, Keith- it doesn’t matter to me. I’m going to stay with you, no matter what. I’m not leaving your side.”

Keith was frozen in Lance’s arms, and he seemed to loosen up- to register what was happening.

“Lance?” he asked, his voice weak- in pain.

Lance let out a laugh, a smile wide on his face as he pulled away slightly to look at Keith. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m here.”

Keith’s Galra ears were gone now, skin only blotches of a lavender-like purple, as if he was littered with splotchy bruises. One of his eyes had a completely yellow iris, while the other was half yellow, half brown. Lance cupped Keith’s cheek and smiled. The yellow and purple faded away all the more.

And Keith smiled back in a weak manner, reaching out a hand to Lance’s face.

But then those eyes widened, looking behind Lance, and he shouted something that was lost to Lance’s ears. All the blue paladin processed was Keith shoving him to the ground, a bright bolt of purple static that left the air tasting like iron, and hearing a loud cry of pain. Then he saw Keith curled up beside him, hand clutched to his gut.

Lance was up in an instant, at Keith’s side, rolling him onto his back. One hand held Keith's head gently, and the other fluttered over his abdomen, where a gash was steadily leaking blood. His fingers shook over the wound, pressing onto it, trying to stop the bleeding.

“ _No-_ no, no no, _Keith_ , _no_ , you _can’t,”_ Lance gasped, voice shaking. The red paladin looked to Lance with heavy lids, his face pale.

Then he seemed to search for something in Lance's eyes before he smiled, and placed a hand over Lance’s, where it pressed into his wound. Hot blood coated both their fingers.

“ _Keith?_ No- you’re not doing this. I just got you back. You have to stay with me, okay? _Keith_ ,” Lance sobbed, panic making his heart race. He watched Keith's eyelids drop.

“ _Now it’s your turn,_ ” Haggar hissed with anger, and Lance looked up to see her holding a purple orb of static energy, aiming it at Lance.

Before Haggar could make her move, a laser shot at her, sending her to the ground with a loud wail. Another laser struck her as she tried to get back on her feet, and now she was out cold.

Lance looked up.

Shiro.

“Shiro!” Lance called. The oldest paladin was at his side in a second, putting his stolen Galra gun to the side as his hands inspected Keith, quickly.

“There’s nothing we can do here- we need to get him to a pod,” Shiro spoke, meeting Lance’s eyes.

Before he could say more, Lance nodded, scooping up Keith in his arms, and standing on his feet. “Shiro- our bayards,” Lance spoke.

Shiro retrieved them, and Lance’s helmet, and they set off.

“Allura, we're at the East wing at the base floor. We’ve got Keith- we need you to meet us there, and prepare to wormhole us out of here. Coran, get a pod ready. We don’t have much time,” Shiro reported as the two made their way to the closest exit.

Shiro downed a guard on the way, and took his helmet, fitting it onto Keith, then putting Lance’s helmet back onto the blue paladin.

The glass shield to Keith’s helmet barely misted with his weak exhales.

When they got to the exit, Pidge and Hunk were there to guide them out to the cloaked green lion. They got everyone on board, and flew to the castle, leaving the Galra ship behind.

Everything was a blur of movement- Pidge flew the fastest Lance had ever seen her fly, getting everyone to the castle in two seconds, tops. Then Lance was running in, holding a bleeding Keith, who felt more and more like death in his arms the more ticks that passed. The paladins followed close behind Lance, knowing better than to ask questions or try to take Keith from his arms.

Coran had a pod ready, and he helped Lance ease Keith into it. They removed Keith's helmet before they closed the pod doors.

After a few minutes at the control panel, Coran spoke.

“He’s made it- just barely.”

There seemed to be a collective exhale from everyone except Lance, who was shaking with adrenaline, gazing at Keith’s still and bloody figure from where he was in the pod. The red paladin looked dead.

Lance didn’t realize he was crying until a hand went on his shoulder, drawing him back to reality. Then he noticed the wet on his face, and the tremors that coursed through his body.

“You should go wash up,” Shiro’s voice spoke gently.

Lance only then realized all the blood on his hands and chest- spilling down his uniform. Bright red, like Keith’s lion.

He nodded, and rushed out of the medical bay to the nearest bathroom he could find.

Lance scrubbed hard at his hands until they were a red as bright as Keith’s blood, and his tears blurred his vision too much to see it.

Then he fell to the floor, and cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait! Didn't feel too well this week. But hey, there's only one more chapter left ;) you can expect that tomorrow.  
> Enjoy!


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> gayyyyyyyyyyys in space

“I’m leaving Voltron.”

The room fell silent, and astounded eyes looked at Lance. He tried not to look away- tried to keep his resolve.

It had been two days since their "Keith rescue", and Lance had been spending a good portion of that time thinking of the best way to break the news to his team.

He decided that each way sucked.

This all sucked.

So Lance had called them all in for a meeting in the common room, where he announced his leaving. He had been thinking about his decision constantly as he stayed in his room these past few days, avoiding the medical bay and the other paladins. It was this morning when he woke up with a pain in his chest and a horrible wave of homesickness that he finally made his choice.

Before any of them could speak, and when Lance caught Allura stiffening and beginning to protest, he continued.

“I have to go back to my family. I can’t… I can’t be away from them, anymore. I can’t do _this_ , anymore. I’ll stay long enough for you guys to find a new pilot for Blue, but after that I’m gone,” he explained, hands balled into fists and nails digging into his palm as he tried to keep a confident composure. “I’m sorry,” he finished before walking out of the room, leaving behind the stunned silence of his friends.

He didn’t know where he was going, really. Lance hadn’t been in the medical bay since he’d brought Keith there- he couldn't get himself to. He didn’t want to go to his room, either- it’d be the most obvious place to look for him. And being in Blue would be too ironic, considering his dramatic announcement.

Eventually, Lance found himself in the control room, looking out at the stars. Just like he had been when Coran had found him there before, the night Lance had nearly died.

He could have _died_. And his mother would never have known.

The danger of his situation hit him once again, just as it had when he held Keith's dying body in his arms, and he felt a wave of guilt consume him.

Who would've told Lance's mother he died? Who would have told her how sorry he was- how he was doing this for the greater good?

What would the greater good even matter if Lance could never see his family, again? If they’d lose him forever….

Lance drew his legs up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around them, burying his face in his knees.

He wanted to go _home_.

He didn’t ask for any of this- to be swept out into space, piloting some alien weapon and facing an insane alien dictator. He was just a _kid_.

Surely it had been a mistake- Blue choosing him. Everyone else seemed to fit their roles so perfectly. Hunk was strong and caring, Pidge was intelligent and driven, and Shiro was a born leader meant to guide them all. And Keith….

Well, Lance could hardly imagine him fitting in anywhere else as perfectly as he did piloting Red.

Lance was just in the right place at the right time. Or the wrong place, depending on how he looked at it…. It was just coincidence.

It wasn’t meant to be.

And it was time Lance faced reality, and went home.

* * *

“Lance?”

He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there (minutes? hours?) when he heard the princess's voice. 

The blue paladin stood up from his spot, turning to face Allura. He flushed red with embarrassment- of course she’d find him, this was _her_ castle. She probably had some freaky alien sense that told her where each paladin was at all times or something. Like a pointy-eared, Altean Santa Claus.

Lance awkwardly met the princess’s eyes, then looked at the floor. “Hey, Princess.”

She gave him a gentle smile, and walked towards him. “Do you mind if I join you?”

Lance blinked, then gave a quick nod as he sat back down. “Go crazy."

The princess sat next to him, and they were silent for a while, looking out at the stars.

“This isn’t about Voltron... is it?” Allura asked him.

Lance was taken aback, and he looked at Allura with wide eyes. She met his gaze, an infinite knowledge in her stare.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Lance… I understand you doubt your capabilities. But you wanting to leave… it extends further than that.”

Lance shied his gaze, looking back at the stars.

“I just want to go home,” he murmured. “That’s all there is to it.”

The princess seemed confused. “If you leave, there won’t be a home to go to. Zarkon _will_ destroy it.”

“And you expect _me_ to stop him?” Lance exclaimed. “ _Me,_  Allura? Have you _seen me?_ ”

The princess’s gaze hardened. “I believe in you, and you are not alone in this.”

Lance glared. “Maybe not, but I’m holding everyone back,” he ranted, voice catching in his throat as he remembered the whispers he had heard in the forest- the insecurities it had spoken to him. “I’m not meant to be here. Blue choosing me was just some mix up- just a way for her to get here."

Allura placed a hand on Lance’s knee, now, and the paladin resisted the urge to pull away, or say some shitty pick up line. He was tired of feeling like this- of exposing himself in this way. He felt weak.

He felt pathetic.

“Your being here is no coincidence, Lance. And it is _not_ a mistake. The blue lion chose you because it saw that you are brave, and strong, and _confident_. It may be the friendliest and most accepting lion, but that does not take away from the fact that it chose _you._  Though you may have doubts, you are meant to be a part of Voltron. You _must_ know that.”

Lance was silent, now. He looked at his hands where they folded in his lap.

Allura’s voice softened with understanding when she spoke.

“You’re worried about him.”

Lance’s head shot up at that, and he looked at Allura with shock. “ _What?_ ”

“Keith,” she spoke in a matter-of-fact tone. “This is about him.”

Lance blushed, and he looked away again, crossing his arms. “No way.”

Allura was quiet for a moment. “What happened to him wasn’t your fault, Lance. In fact, you're the one that  _saved_ him.”

“He almost died,” Lance spat out. “He bled out in my arms, Allura. He took that shot for _me_. If he died, it would've been my fault, and you guys would have lost him- would've lost your best pilot, and have been stuck with me, instead! And I didn't ask him to sacrifice himself for me! Over, and over- I didn't ask for  _any of it!_ I-I didn’t know that- I didn’t _think_ this would all be so--”

“Scary,” Allura finished.

Lance grew quiet. “Yeah,” he spoke, voice small. “I’m just… I’m not strong enough to do this. I’m not strong enough to protect him…" Lance blushed, and corrected himself, "to protect any of you.”

It was silent for a long time before Allura finally spoke.

“You are the paladin of the blue lion, Lance. You are the leg that holds up this team, and the spirit that holds us together. The blue lion chose you because you are brave and daring. It would not have accepted you if this weren't true. You are more powerful than you realize."

Lance was silent, looking at the floor. So Allura spoke, again.

"You know, the blue and red lions... they’re incredible opposites. They lie on the most opposing sides of the spectrum. Yet, they do rely on one another. They’re each other’s balance. Without you, Lance, Keith’s balance would falter, and his composure would crumble. He needs you fighting by his side. If you left, I'm not sure what would happen to Voltron. You're not replaceable, though you may think you are.”

Lance was watching Allura, now, and his questions from earlier overwhelmed him- begging to be let out.

“When Blue landed me on the same planet as Keith… was that just an accident?" he asked before looking away, trying to organize his thoughts. "Pidge told me none of you guys landed in the same place, and… and when I was battling the Galra soldiers- when Shiro and I were rescuing Keith, I used his bayard. I- I shouldn’t be able to do that, _right?_ Isn’t it, like, meant to work for just one paladin? What does that… what does it all  _mean?_ ”

Allura smiled reassuringly, then explained.

“You may find this hard to believe, but you and Keith have a lot more in common than you realize," she teased. "The blue lion is guardian of water. Keith's is of fire. Your element, Lance, is one that is guided by its heart. The blue paladin does not follow reasoning, but _intuition_. Much like the red lion. It's no coincidence that you both landed on the same planet. And it’s no coincidence that you managed to work Keith’s bayard. You two are connected, just as your lions are. Your connection is perhaps the strongest of all the paladins of Voltron, and the most unstable- the hardest to find balance with, but the most powerful when that balance is achieved. My point is… the blue lion followed Keith to that planet because it  _wanted_ to- because it felt that _you_ wanted to.”

A harsh tug resonated in Lance’s chest, and he knew where it was leading him, now. But he didn’t know if he could do it- if he could stand there waiting for Keith, and then finally face him and speak to him about _everything_ when he hardly knew what was going on inside his own head.

He felt like crying again, but he didn’t. He was just quiet.

For once, he had nothing to say.

Allura put a hand on his shoulder. “Do what your heart tells you, Lance. Do what feels right,” she spoke softly before getting up, and walking away.

Lance swallowed hard, balled the heels of his palms in his eyes, and took a deep breath.

He moved his hands, looked up at the stars, off into the worlds beyond his reach where his home waited for him, light-years away.

Then he stood up, and walked the opposite direction.

That walk turned into a sprint, until he found himself in the infirmary.

He froze in the doorway, and stared at the pod that Keith was in.

The doors slid shut behind him. He walked forward, until he was face to face with the glass.

He lifted his hand up, and pressed it against the cold surface, where Keith’s own hand sat behind- purple veins and patches of lavender skin marking him. Lance wished he could take Keith’s hand in his own.

“I’m here,” he reassured, and his heart was placated for the first time in days. “I’m here.”

* * *

It took three days for Keith to emerge from his crypod.

Lance waited for him all the while. He hardly left Keith’s side, and when he did it would only be for an hour at most. Being separated from the red paladin for too long sent a feeling of anxiety through Lance that was just too strong to bear.

He hadn't made a choice yet in regards to whether or not he was going to stay on team Voltron. For now, he explained to the others, he'd stay long enough to make sure Keith was alright.

It was the least Lance could do, since the guy had risked his life for him.

Twice.

The others didn’t try to make Lance leave Keith’s side, but they did voice their concerns.

“Maybe you should sleep in your bed?” Pidge had suggested on Lance’s first night in the medical bay.

He shook his head. “Nah, I’m fine here,” he spoke with a smile he hoped came off as cocky as he wanted it to.

Pidge had responded by bringing Lance a blanket and pillow, and her headphones.

When Lance didn’t join the team for their meals, Hunk took to bringing them to Lance, and even stayed with him hours on end, just talking about Earth- about how they used to surf every day during the summers back home on Veradera beach, and how Lance’s mom would call them in and always have the best meals prepared for them.

“I miss her,” Lance found himself saying.

Hunk smiled. “I’m sure she misses you, too. And I bet she knows you’re alright.”

“How can you be sure?”

“Well, remember that time you wanted us to go to that party back when we were thirteen? The one that girl Jenny was going to be at?”

Lance smiled and snorted. He already knew what Hunk was referring to. “Yeah.”

“Remember what happened when you tried to sneak out?”

Lance laughed. “Yeah, my mom was waiting at the front door, arms crossed.”

“Exactly. She’s got some sort of sixth sense about this stuff.”

“I think it was because she smelled the insane amount of my dad's cologne I had sprayed on myself before I tried to leave.”

“Same difference.”

They laughed for a bit.

“Your family knows you’re alright, Lance. All our families, they know. And they’ll wait for us, and we’ll be able to tell them how we saved the universe.”

Lance smiled softly at that. “Thanks, man.”

Hunk stayed with him a while more before he retired to his room.

It was late on that third day, when Lance was up and pacing as he often did, that the cryopod door phased opened.

A cold mist filled the room, and Keith stepped out, sagging forward, falling to the floor.

Lance was there in an instant, catching him in his arms.

“Keith!”

The red paladin’s arms weakly reached out to hold onto Lance’s own, and he was cold, so Lance pulled him closer. He suddenly felt overwhelmed with Keith’s physical presence- with the fact that he was _alive_  in Lance’s arms. His skin was no longer purple, and his eyes were back to their warm color when they opened to look blearily at Lance.

“Lance…?” Keith spoke, and his voice was tired, but there.

“Yeah- it’s me. I’m here. How are you feeling?”

Keith looked up at him, now, taking in the sight of the blue paladin, as if trying to figure out whether or not he was real. His eyes were wide, now, a soft brownish grey, and Lance was momentarily lost in them.

“I’m… I’m fine,” he murmured. His hands tightened on Lance’s arms.

They stared at each other more. Lance was dumbstruck. Then Keith spoke, again.

“It’s really you,” he gasped wetly, eyes glassy, and Lance swallowed hard before he nodded, pulling him close, giving him a hug.

“Yeah. Yeah, it is. This is real. I promise. You’re safe, now.”

Keith buried his face in Lance’s neck- breathed him in. Lance tightened his hold, bringing the red paladin closer. His hair tickled Lance’s nose, and he found his hand moving up Keith’s back, smoothing along his soft hair, cradling his head.

Keith pulled away to look at Lance, again, with hesitance on his face- as if he wasn’t one hundred percent certain Lance would still be there. As if he was an apparition bound to fade away.

Lance gave him a reassuring smile. He bent Keith’s head down, slightly, and placed a kiss on the top of it, gentle- unsure. Keith seemed to melt in Lance’s arms, his body loosening, opening up to Lance’s intimacy.

“Y’know, I could get used to the mullet," he said as he tugged at it. "In fact, it’s not so bad,” Lance murmured in Keith’s hair.

Keith laughed, and it sounded wet. “You’re such a jerk.”

“Shhhh,” Lance hushed, smiling. “We’re bonding. I'm cradling you in my arms.”

He felt Keith smile into his shoulder, and pulled him just a little bit closer.

Right now, in this moment, everything was fine.

* * *

Lance and Keith danced around one another for days after the red paladin emerged from his cryopod.

They hadn’t spoken again since their conversation in the medical chamber, though there was so much left to say. Perhaps that was why they avoided one another- they didn't want to face the conversations that laid in wait for them. So they kept their secrets, and their resentments.

In a way, Lance was angry at Keith for his recklessness- for the way he had nearly gotten himself killed _twice_. And, when Keith had found out Lance was leaving Voltron, he grew furious.

That fight was one of their worst.

"You  _selfish jerk!"_  Keith had yelled at Lance in the training deck. The team had been working on a bonding exercise- the one in which they open their minds to one another. It was much needed, especially after Keith had confessed his knowledge of his half-Galra blood. The team accepted him, of course, but the red paladin couldn't accept himself. His doubts made Voltron weaker, and so Shiro suggested this exercise so Keith could open up about what he had gone through on the Galra ship, and so the other paladins could open up, as well.

Really, Lance should have expected this.

Keith had seen the news of Lance's leaving through Hunk's mind, and the blue paladin turned to send his friend a glare.

"Gee, thanks, Hunk," he grumbled sarcastically.

"Oh, what- like you didn't think he was going to find out when you one day just, I don't know _,_   _disappear_ from team Voltron?" Hunk had bit back, bitterly. Lance felt a stab of guilt, but he buried it.

Keith stood up, yanking his mind melding helmet off despite a tired warning of "Keith" from Shiro, and marched towards Lance.

"Explain.  _Now_. _"_

Lance huffed, indignant. "I don't need to explain myself to you!" he jabbed.

Keith looked hurt at that, but he masked it quickly. Just as he did with everything.

It almost scared Lance how good Keith was at that.

"You're not leaving," he growled, hands on his hips.

Lance stood up too, and pulled off his own helmet. "Oh, really? Well  _pardon me_ , because last I checked-  _you weren't the flipping boss of me!"_

"Guys, calm down!" Pidge admonished.

They didn't, too caught up in their rage.

"You're risking the safety of the universe because you're  _homesick?!"_  Keith exclaimed.

Lance had stepped forward at that, everything red in his blinding anger. "Shut  _up_. You don't know what you're talking about," Lance hissed, hands balled into fists.

"Really? Because it looks like you just wanna run away and go hide with your mom while the rest of us risk our lives saving her, and the rest of your family!"

Lance lashed out at that, punching Keith clean across the cheek. 

It was only a second before the red paladin charged at him, knocking him to the ground. 

They wrestled about, shouting at one another as the other paladins tried to separate them.

"I never asked for this!" Lance shouted as he shoved Keith, pinning him down. "I never asked for _any of this!"_

Keith kicked him off before pinning Lance down, now, eyes enraged. "And what's your family going to think when they found out you've put them all in danger, _huh_ _!?_ Oh, I bet they'll be  _so proud!"_

Shiro yanked Keith off, holding him back, and Hunk grabbed Lance under his arms, keeping him still when he tried to jump at Keith. 

The next words he spoke were far worse than the punch he wanted to throw. 

"You know what?" Lance growled, "I don't expect _you_ to understand. Not all of us are orphans, Keith-  _s_ _ome_ of us have people who care if we live or die!"

Keith stopped struggling, at that, and his face went blank- emotionless. The room fell into a horrible silence.

Lance licked his lips, as if he could taste the bitter remnants of what he had said. He trembled in Hunk's hold, still buzzing from adrenaline, waiting for the red paladin to make the next move.

He was surprised when Keith shrugged out of Shiro's hold, and simply sent Lance a glare. It held no menace- no emotion, at all.

"You're a  _coward_ , McClain," he spoke before storming off.

Lance didn't go after him.

After a moment of awkward quiet, Hunk cleared his throat.

"Well... good to know everything's out there, now."

Lance scoffed before stomping off to his room.

* * *

In the week that passed, the paladins tried to get things back to normal. Shiro established a regular Voltron training regimen, and working on a new plan to get them back on track, continuing on their path to stopping Zarkon. 

However, Lance and Keith’s built up tension was upsetting the whole balance of Voltron. It infuriated the other paladins, though none of them said anything.

Except Pidge, that was.

“You know, after he got out of his pod... I thought things were fine between you two,” she said to Lance. They were sat in the dining room, and Lance was watching Keith walk out after tossing his meal of half-eaten Altean space goo.

Lance shrugged. “Oh, yeah, it was just peachy,” he murmured before getting up and throwing the rest of his goo away, as well, and retreating to his room.

Neither paladin wanted to be the first to speak, it seemed.

So Lance took to moping around every day, grumbling about “stupid Keith” and his “stupid mullet” and his “stupid emotional constipation”, and who was _he_ to blame Lance? How could he even begin to _think_ he understood what Lance was going through? He was just so  _infuriating._

Lance was kept up more nights than not, the horrible words he had spoken echoing in his head.

He shouldn't have said what he said. Lance knew that. But he wasn't about to admit it. And Keith had also said hurtful things. He was just as in the wrong as Lance.

But things had never gotten this  _bad_. Keith and Lance had never physically attacked one another. It would never get this far.

Lance rolled in his bed, letting out a sigh. This was the eighth night since their argument, and he realized that, once again, he was not about to get any sleep. So, with a groan, he got out of bed. He would take a walk... clear his mind.

He grabbed his jacket, shrugged it on, and left his room and bed behind. 

The castle was so quiet when everyone went to bed. It seemed almost haunting. Being out in the middle of space, there was no background noise to blur out the quiet- no crickets, no wind blowing, no sound of an airplane passing by overhead, and no rain....

Lance missed the rain so much. 

He felt the familiar pang of homesickness in his gut, and suppressed it. He didn't want to think about home, now. So he didn't.

Instead, Lance walked further and further through the halls.

Until a noise broke through the quiet. 

The sound of resistance- of muffled grunts and the clattering of metal on metal, a scuffing foot and quick movement. It was coming from the training deck.

Curious, Lance stepped inside.

He was greeted with the sight of Keith battling a combat simulator. From the looks of it, he had set it to a high level.

Lance was about to leave before Keith could notice him, but found himself entranced as he watched the red paladin fight- his lean frame fluttering into move after move, attack after attack, without the slightest hint of delay or sign of exhaustion. He was incredible. 

Keith finished off the robot with one final blow, ending the simulation. Then he looked up, and caught Lance's eyes. He looked startled, then annoyed.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as his blade retreated into his bayard. He put it down on a table off to the side, grabbing a towel and a pouch of water. He kept his back to Lance.

"I heard distressed noises. Thought Hunk was puking in here," Lance lied as he walked more into the room, closer to Keith. He could see the other boy prickle with annoyance.

 _"Ha,"_ he retorted dryly before he wiped at his sweaty face and neck, and placed the towel back on the table. He turned to face Lance, now. "What do you want?" he asked when he found Lance not leaving, but instead further in the room.

What  _did_ Lance want? He wasn't really sure.

He decided to swallow his pride. He needed a good night's sleep, and from the looks of it, so did Keith. If getting this conversation over with was the key to that, it was worth a shot.

"We should probably talk."

Keith frowned, eyes squinting at Lance. "Probably."

Lance crossed his arms. "I'm not going to do all of the apologizing. I may have crossed a line, but so did you." 

Keith's eyes flashed dangerously, and he shoved past Lance. "This conversation is done."

Lance turned and grabbed Keith's arm. "Oh  _no_ _way_ , you are  _not_ getting out of this that easily!"

Keith spun around, then, and Lance was afraid for a moment they were going to have a reenactment of their last encounter. But Keith stopped, inches from Lance's face, and spoke.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked. "You want me to apologize? To tell you that I'm sorry for being mad at you for leaving me behind?" 

Lance blinked, shocked, and Keith realized what he said, taking a step back, both literally and figuratively. His voice lowered. "I-I mean  _us_. I mean Voltron."

The red paladin was flushed, and Lance was pretty sure it wasn't from his workout. Lance thought of a million things to say, most of them arguments defending himself.

He, like always, didn't expect what he said next.

"I don't  _want_ to leave you," Lance tried to explain. "I just... I'm not  _used to this-_  to worrying about someone close to me getting hurt. I don't want to deal with it- and, honestly? I'm just- I'm fucking  _terrified!"_

Keith's eyes opened up, and Lance could see every emotion in them- could suddenly understand everything. "How do you think I feel, Lance?!" Keith exclaimed, arms opening wide in exasperation. "You have  _tons_ of people you love- people that matter to you, and that are waiting for you! You have a home to get to- you know what it's like! You know how to deal with it! With these emotions- with caring and worrying about other people!" 

Lance glowered at the red paladin. "Well it's different when the people you love are battling side by side with you!" he shouted before he stopped, a cold feeling shooting through him at the words he had let slip. 

Keith went horribly silent. He looked dumbstruck, eyes wide, and Lance felt himself go a deep red. He wanted to die, or hide forever. Considering the events of the past few weeks, he chose "hide forever", and started for his room.

But a hand grabbed his wrist, and he was forced to stop. 

He tugged against Keith's hold.

"Let me  _go!"_  he shouted, embarrassed and wanting nothing more than to run far, far away from the red paladin.

But Keith didn't let go. Instead, he turned Lance around gently. 

"Say that again," he murmured, and his voice was so low that Lance felt a shiver travel under his skin. 

Lance flushed, looking away. "I know you heard me," he snapped.

"I need to hear it again," Keith spoke, voice softer than Lance had ever heard it, yet resolute and strong. "Say it again."

Lance wanted to die, and if he looked into Keith's intense gaze any longer, he just might do that. "Why?" he asked, fixing a glare on the paladin.

 _"Lance,"_ Keith insisted, not intent on letting up.

"Ugh, quiznak, fine! I'm in love with you, Keith! Is that what you want to hear?"

Keith's eyes searched Lance's own for the longest time. Lance's heart was racing so fast, pounding so hard in his ears he almost didn't hear what Keith said, next.

"I love you, too," he finally spoke, and Lance felt his raging heart stop in its tracks. His eyes were probably the size of planets. "I have..." Keith continued, "I have for a while."

Lance blinked, and the two boys stared at one another for a moment. "Now what?" Lance asked.

Keith snorted, then grew shy- uncertain. "I don't know," he spoke honestly. "All I do know is... is that I can't do this without you, Lance. I wouldn't be able to go on- to get through all this if you went away. If you left Voltron... I'd be lost."

It was silent, and Keith's hand fell from where it had been on Lance's wrist. That area felt cold, now- devoid of Keith's warmth. He shied away from Lance's gaze, and neither paladin spoke for a long while.

"Then I guess I have to stay, huh?" Lance quipped.

He was met with surprised eyes and then a smile so bright it put the stars to shame. Lance found himself smiling back, and then Keith was hugging him.

"I'm sorry," he spoke from Lance's neck, his breath warming the skin there. "For what I said.... I didn't mean it."

"Me too," Lance spoke, hands finding Keith's back, running a soothing palm down it before Keith let go, pulling away. He looked into Lance's eyes, then away, seeming like there was something he wanted to say.

"What is it?" Lance asked, wanting to reach out to him, wanting to get rid of this stupid gap between them once and for all.

“I... I’m not good at this stuff,” Keith murmured, and when Lance gave him a confused look, he gestured at the space in between them.  _"Caring._  Emotions, all of that. What makes things like this work... I don't know if I can... _do that_ , y'know?”

Lance smiled, and reached out, pulling Keith in by his hips, thumbs grazing the bone there. The shorter boy looked startled, eyes wide. “Well, then, it's a good thing I'm only in this for your body.”

Keith smiled at that, then _laughed_.

Lance was so taken aback by the sound- and by the sight of it, the way that Keith’s eyes squinted, mouth stretched wide, teeth a dazzling white.

Then he remembered that Keith had dimples- saw them make little hollows in his cheeks.

And Lance was _fucked_.

He grabbed the collar of Keith's shirt, taking in the intense stare that suddenly met his, and he stepped forward, his other hand straying to Keith's shoulder, running up his neck, cradling the soft hair there. Keith was warm under his palm, and his eyelids drooped as his gaze went lower....

Lance pulled Keith in by his collar, then, and kissed him, his hands finding his neck, brushing through his long hair before cupping his cheeks.

Keith’s hands gripped onto Lance’s biceps, then skidded over his chest- warm against his heart. Lance shivered, pressing nearer.

When they parted, Keith looked dazed.

So Lance kissed him, again, until the universe spun around them both.

Lance hummed into it, and his lips parted against Keith's, and felt his warm breath- felt his palms cup the back of Lance’s neck, where his fingers scratched lightly, digging into the short brown hair there.

“This, I can do,” Keith murmured.

Lance smiled, wide and goofy against Keith’s next kiss, making their teeth clack. He couldn’t stop smiling, and now Keith was, too.

“We can build up to the rest,” Lance murmured, and Keith nodded fast, taking Lance by the lapels of his jacket, and pulling him close, holding him tight, shutting him up.

Bringing him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *posts two days late*  
> Thanks for sticking with this tho u guys. hope you enjoyed!  
> if u wanna rant with me about this hellish fandom or suggest a fic prompt hmu on my tumblr: spacegaykogane  
> peaceeee,&& stay gay, my dudes


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